HJNO Jan/Feb 2026

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JAN / FEB 2026 43 Karen C. Lyon, PhD, MBA, APRN-CNS, NEA Chief Executive Officer Louisiana State Board of Nursing 2013 • Revision of the LSBN strategic plan to include the new strategic priority, “E,” Advance NursingWorkforceThrough Research. • Approved Step I for South Louisiana Community College to proceed to Step II for developing an Associate of Science in Nursing Degree Program. • Approved the request of Herzing University to offer graduate clinical experiences in Louisiana for the specialty/concentration of MSN/ Family Nurse Practitioner. 2014 • Promulgated new rules related to Title 46, Subpart 2: Registered Nurses, §3341 Fees for Registration and Licensure to allow for limited fee increases and §4513 Authorized Practice to allow for temporary prescriptive authority for APRNs during a formal, declared disaster. • Approved the Louisiana Nursing Education Articulation Model 2014, which became effective in the fall of 2014. • Approved a curriculum change for Our Lady of the Lake College to transition the Master of Science in NursingAnesthesia Program to a BSN to DNPA program. 2015 • Approved the joint statement with the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners providing for “collaboration and collaborative practice.” • ApprovedtherequesttoreviseLAC46: XLVII: 3703.A.a.iv.c and to add section LAC 46: XLVII: 3709 in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, LA. R.S. 49:951-968 providing for revision to the current definition of “Delegating Nursing Interventions” and providing for “Delegation of Medication Administration to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel in Outpatient Clinic Settings.” • Accepted the letter of intent from Sowela Technical Community College, approved Step I and the request to begin Step II for initiation of an Associate of Science in Nursing Degree Program. 2016 LSBN staff worked with board members and community RNs and APRNs on the following projects: • Disciplinary Rules, Section 3331 Task Force; • Delegation to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel Task Force; • HR 244 Task Force on Proposal for Joint RN/LPN Board; • Transporting Critically Ill Neonates Ad Hoc Committee; • IEN English Proficiency Task Force; • Nurse Fatigue and Safety Task Force; and • Task Force on Capacity and Clinical Availability. R.S. 37:914(B)(1), 916, 917, and 927(A) was amended allowing for the: • Removal of the two designated MD ex officio members from the LSBN; and • Appointment of two, non-nursing consumer members to the LSBN with full membership privileges. 2017 LSBN staff worked with board members and community RNs and APRNs on the following projects: • Enhanced RN Compact Task Force; • Approved the Declaratory Statement on Patient Safety: Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses Working Extended Hours; • Full approval of the Associate of Science in Nursing program at South Louisiana Community College; • Approved the request from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center to add Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (DNP) to the approved graduate education degree program; • Approved that it is within the scope of practice for a registered nurse to delegate gastrostomy tube feedings to unlicensed personnel in intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and retracted the nurse’s practice opinion dated March 28, 1990; and • Approved the plan to go to biennial RN/APRN license renewal on the October to December 2018 license renewal cycle. 2018 • Worked with the Center for Nursing and Louisiana Action Coalition to promote LSBN initiatives on workforce planning, leadership development, and other nursing initiatives, and supported the development of marketing materials for the same. • Approved that the board appoint a task force that will support LPN to RN bridge programs in the future and assess the barriers to success in those programs.