© 2024 Lakeshore Public Media
8625 Indiana Place
Merrillville, IN 46410
(219)756-5656
Public Broadcasting for Northwest Indiana & Chicagoland since 1987
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Click here for LIVE Election Night coverage

Indiana State Nursing Board changes policies to address federal law violation

A health care provider stands in front of a nurses station in a hospital. The provider, a White man with short hair is wearing green scrubs and typing on a laptop that's sitting on a countertop.
WFIU/WTIU
The U.S. Department of Justice found earlier this year that an Indiana program to help rehabilitate and monitor nurses with substance use disorders violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Indiana State Nursing Board has agreed to change its policies to address its violation of federal law.

The U.S. Department of Justice found earlier this year that a program to help rehabilitate and monitor nurses with substance use disorders violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. That’s because the board wouldn’t allow nurses who use medication in their recovery to participate in the program.

Under a settlement agreement announced Thursday, the Nursing Board agreed to allow nurses who are prescribed medication to help address their opioid use disorder to participate in the program. And it will ensure those nurses don’t face discriminatory conditions or terms.

The settlement with the Justice Department also requires the board to pay $70,000 to the person who brought the complaint.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Tags
Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.