The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Department of Health (DOH) continue to prioritize the need for a stable, trained long-term care work force in the wake of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). The departments have held several joint stakeholder listening sessions and recognize that emergency rules must be put in place to meet this goal.

Working in tandem, DOH and DSHS have identified four critical areas to be addressed through either emergency or permanent rules:

Under Authority of DSHS:

• Set dates for completion of training to absorb the backlog of workers hired during the pandemic
• Provide an avenue to grant credit for on-the-job training for those employed during the COVID-19 PHE who were not able to meet the CE renewal requirements.

Under Authority of DOH:

• Set policies around credentialing dates that will complement and support the timelines set by DSHS
• Address the need to re-set the date of hire for workers who failed to renew or whose credential fully expired

While these rules may not be set in place at the same time due to differences in agency processes, DSHS and DOH are fully committed to jointly implementing these critical rules to support the long-term care workforce.

Here is the link to the DSHS Emergency Rule Filing regarding training, certification and CE training deadlines at: 

https://www.dshs.wa.gov/sites/default/files/rpau/documents/103E-21-20-004.pdf

Questions?

Contact:

Laura Hofmann, MSN, RN – Director of Clinical and Nursing Facility Regulatory Services
c: 425-231-4804