§ 21–1203. Administration of medication to program participants by trained employees.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation, a program employee who has been trained in accordance with § 21-1205(b) may administer prescription or nonprescription medication to a program participant in compliance with the signed, written instructions of a licensed practitioner if:

(1) The program participant, guardian, or parent has been notified of the administration of medication in writing.

(2) The trained employee is under the general supervision of a registered nurse who has been trained and certified pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the Mayor under § 21-1205(a), or has successfully completed a training program in medication administration approved by the State of Maryland or the Commonwealth of Virginia; and

(3) The program participant is incapable of self-administration of medication.

(b) Program employees who are trained to administer medication in accordance with this chapter shall be immune from civil liability arising from a wrongful act or omission in administering medication, except that they shall not be immune from civil liability if the wrongful act or omission in administering medication is intentional or manifests a willful or wanton disregard for the health or safety of the program participant to whom the medication is administered. Neither the District government nor the program shall be liable in circumstances where program employee is immune under this section, unless the conduct of the employee is gross negligence.

(c) Registered nurses who authorize or monitor the administration of medication, or provide training in accordance with this chapter, shall be immune from civil liability arising from a wrongful act or omission in authorizing or monitoring the administration of medication or providing training, except that they shall not be immune from civil liability if the wrongful act or omission in authorizing or monitoring the administration of medication or providing training is intentional or manifests a willful or wanton disregard for the health or safety of the program participant to whom the medication is administered. Neither the District government nor the program shall be liable in circumstances where the program employee is immune under this section, unless the conduct of the employee is gross negligence.

(Sept. 26, 1995, D.C. Law 11-52, § 601(b), 42 DCR 3684; Mar. 26, 1999, D.C. Law 12-175, § 1002(c), 45 DCR 7193; Oct. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 13-38, § 1202(c), 46 DCR 6373.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 21-1203.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 13-38 rewrote par. (a)(1), which had read:

“The program participant, guardian, or parent has consented to the administration of medication in writing;”.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary amendment of section, see § 602(c) of the Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Support Emergency Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-401, July 13, 1998, 45 DCR 4794), § 602(c) of the Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-564, January 12, 1999, 46 DCR 669), and § 602(c) of the Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-41, March 31, 1999, 46 DCR 3446).

For temporary (90-day) amendment of section, see § 602(c) of the Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-41, March 31, 1999, 46 DCR 3446).

For temporary (90-day) amendment of section, see § 2(c) of the Use of Trained Employees to Administer Medication Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-73, May 26, 1999, 46 DCR 5166).

For temporary (90-day) amendment of section, see § 1202(c) of the Service Improvement and Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Support Emergency Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-110, July 28, 1999, 46 DCR 6320).

Temporary Legislation

Section 2(c) of D.C. Law 13-32 substituted “has been notified of” for “has consented to” in (a)(1).

Section 4 (b) of D.C. Law 13-32 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.