Governor Cooper Issues Executive Order No. 130

Governor Cooper Issues Executive Order No. 130 

MEETING NORTH CAROLINA HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NEEDS

On Wednesday, April 8, Governor Cooper signed Executive Order 130, which increases health care facilities’ licensed bed capacity, adds health care providers to the system, and authorizes transfer of medical resources where needed. These mandates are intended to prepare for and address a forecasted surge of COVID-19 cases requiring inpatient hospitalization in facilities across North Carolina in the coming days. This Executive Order will remain in effect for 60 days. 

What does this Executive Order do?

This Order temporarily waives some legal or regulatory constraints that could interfere with the state’s health care resources ability to respond to the public health emergency.

Why is this Executive Order necessary?

With a surge of COVID-19 cases requiring inpatient hospitalization forecasted in the coming days, this Order takes a series of actions designed to expand the capacity of the state’s health care system. This Order allows for increases in health care facilities’ licensed bed capacity, adds health care providers to the system, authorizes use of equipment and other resources that otherwise would lie dormant, and transfers medical resources where they can be most effective and save the most lives.

How does this Executive Order affect child care in North Carolina?

Child care centers that chose to remain open or reopen must operate under the new emergency facility guidelines issued by the NC Department of Health and Human Services. These new guidelines are specifically designed to address the COVID-19 emergency needs. To remain open or reopen, child care centers must submit an application to the NC DHHS and follow the new guidelines. They must also serve only children of essential employees, children who are receiving child welfare services or children who are homeless or living in unstable or unsafe living arrangements.

How does this Executive Order increase the number of healthcare workers available to help fight COVID-19?

This Order allows professional licensing boards to waive or modify the enforcement of legal or regulatory constraints to meet the need for additional health care workers to treat patients, including those related to:

• allowing practice in North Carolina by health care professionals that are licensed in other states, but not in North Carolina; 
• allowing retired or inactive health care professionals to provide care;
• allowing skilled, but unlicensed volunteers to provide care; and/or
• allowing students to provide care if they are at an appropriately advanced stage of professional study.

How does this Order impact mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services?

The Order temporarily waives certain regulations that could prevent or impair the provision of mental health and substance use disorder treatment services and support services for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (“MH/DD/SAS” services). 

Source: Executive Order 130 FAQ