Section 250. Direct care staff qualifications  


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  • A. Direct care staff shall be at least 18 years of age unless certified in Virginia as a nurse aide.

    B. Direct care staff who are responsible for caring for residents with special health care needs shall only provide services within the scope of their practice and training.

    C. In facilities licensed for both residential and assisted living care, all direct care staff who care for residents who meet the criteria for assisted living care shall have satisfactorily completed, or within 30 days of employment shall enroll in and successfully complete within two months of employment, a training program consistent with department requirements, except as noted in subsections D and E of this section. Department requirements shall be met in one of the following five ways:

    1. Registration in Virginia as a certified nurse aide.

    2. Graduation from a Virginia Board of Nursing-approved educational curriculum from a Virginia Board of Nursing accredited institution for nursing assistant, geriatric assistant or home health aide.

    3. Graduation from a personal care aide training program approved by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services.

    4. Graduation from a department-approved educational curriculum for nursing assistant, geriatric assistant or home health aide. The curriculum is provided by a hospital, nursing facility, or educational institution not approved by the Virginia Board of Nursing, e.g., out-of-state curriculum. To obtain department approval:

    a. The facility shall provide to the department's representative an outline of the course content, dates and hours of instruction received, the name of the entity that provided the training, and other pertinent information.

    b. The department will make a determination based on the above information and provide written confirmation to the facility when the course meets department requirements.

    5. Successful completion of the department-approved 40-hour direct care staff training provided by a licensed health care professional acting within the scope of the requirements of his profession.

    D. Licensed health care professionals acting within the scope of the requirements of their profession are not required to complete the training in subsection C of this section.

    E. Direct care staff of the facility employed prior to February 1, 1996, shall not be required to complete the training in subsection C of this section if they (i) have been continuously employed as direct care staff in the facility since then and (ii) have demonstrated competency on a skills checklist dated and signed no later than February 1, 1997, by a licensed health care professional acting within the scope of the requirements of his profession.

    F. In respect to the requirements of subsection C of this section, the facility shall obtain a copy of the certificate issued to the certified nurse aide, the nursing assistant, geriatric assistant or home health aide, personal care aide, or documentation indicating the department-approved 40-hour direct care staff training has been successfully completed. The copy of the certificate or the appropriate documentation shall be retained in the staff member's file.

    G. The administrator shall develop and implement a written plan for supervision of direct care staff who have not yet successfully completed the training program as allowed for in subsection C of this section.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 23, Issue 06, eff. December 28, 2006.

Statutory Authority

§§ 63.2-217 and 63.2-1732 of the Code of Virginia.