If you are a licensee of the Ohio Board of Nursing who is subject to an Ohio Board of Nursing Consent Agreement or Order, Covid-19 might affect your ability to comply with certain requirements of your Consent Agreement or Order including, but not limited to, submitting to random drug testing (for example, if a test site closes or there are restrictions on travel) or attending AA/12 step meetings (for example, if there are restrictions on travel or group gatherings).
Typically, the Ohio Board of Nursing Consent Agreements and Order require a licensee to report a violation of their Consent Agreement or Order within 30 days of the occurrence of the violation.
First and foremost: Do everything you can to continue to comply with all terms and requirements of your Consent Agreement or Board Order. If you cannot comply with a particular requirement of a Consent Agreement or Order, immediately email your Monitoring Agent as soon as you become aware and provide them all details of why you cannot or did not comply, such as inability to submit a specimen at a designated site for any documented reason or any restrictions on travel and group gatherings. If you have legal counsel, you should also email your legal counsel all pertinent details and a copy of your email to your Monitoring Agent.
Below is an email we received today from Lisa Ferguson-Ramos, Compliance Manager at the Ohio Board of Nursing related to compliance with the terms of the Consent Agreement in light of Covid-19:
Attorneys:
Licensees will be advised that any requirement not met such as a missed screen or support group meeting attendance will be evaluated considering the coronavirus (COVID-19). This includes any restrictions on travel and group gatherings or inability to submit a specimen at a designated site for any documented reason. The agent should be notified by email if a requirement is not met.
Enclosed is a link with an on-line meeting directory:
The message above will be added as an autoreply to monitoring agent emails.
Alternatives to the online meeting link above would be considered. The Board will also consider the inability to comply and will update the message to licensees as information or directives change. Please advise your clients accordingly. I will forward this email to the agents.
Sincerely,
Lisa Ferguson-Ramos
Compliance Manager
Ohio Legal Counsel to Professionals 