The Building America’s Health Care Workforce Act (H.R. 468) would give temporary nurse aides (TNA) working in nursing homes 24 months to become certified nursing assistants (CNA), instead of the current four months. The bill recognizes that many states are currently dealing with CNA training and testing backlogs. The legislation would also allow temporary nurse aides to apply their on-the-job experience and training toward the 75-hour federal training requirement to become a CNA.
“We applaud Congressman Guthrie and Congresswoman Dean for re-introducing this important legislation that recognizes the heroic efforts of temporary nurse aides and gives them a more realistic path to build a permanent career in long term care,” said Holly Harmon, senior vice president of Quality, Regulatory & Clinical Services at AHCA/NCAL. “Hundreds of thousands of temporary nurse aides stepped up to serve vulnerable seniors during this global crisis, supporting residents with non-clinical tasks and offering companionship. With many states unable to meet current training and testing demands, this legislation will help temporary aides transition to permanent caregivers while continuing to serve their residents, supporting seniors’ continuity of care.”
The Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act (H.R. 3227/S. 1749) will help address the nationwide shortage of CNAs by ensuring that nurse aides have access to the quality training they need to provide care to residents. Specifically, the bill allows nursing facilities that have been required to terminate their in-house education programs to resume those programs once deficiencies are corrected. This bill also gives providers access to the National Practitioner Data Bank to conduct background checks and help identify the best candidates for open positions.
"Nursing homes have experienced the worst job loss out of any health care sector during the pandemic, and now more than ever we need solutions like the Ensuring Seniors' Access to Quality Care Act to help nursing homes vet and train crucially needed caregivers. With this legislation, we can help our nation's seniors receive high-quality care delivered by highly trained and dedicated caregivers,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL.
Long term care providers nationwide are struggling to fill vacant roles, and staffing shortages are forcing many facilities to limit admissions or close their doors completely. In the midst of this crisis, the Biden Administration is expected to soon announce a federal staffing requirement. Rather than an unfunded staffing mandate, AHCA/NCAL strongly urges the Administration and Congress to put forth more targeted policies and investments, like these two pieces of legislation. More will be needed to rebuild the long term care workforce, but by training and retaining thousands of direct caregivers, we can make a meaningful difference in protecting access to care for our nation’s precious seniors.
Find additional proposals to grow and strengthen the long term care workforce in AHCA’s reform agenda, the
Care For Our Seniors Act.