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Central Issues: Nursing Home Administrators Board
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Article Content
May 26, 2010
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| Focusing on Key Issues of the Nursing Home Administrators Board |
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What are the key issues the Nursing Home Administrators Board (NHAB) is addressing in collaboration with the Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA)?
OHLA's series of online publications, Central Issues, highlights the key issues of OHLA-regulated professions to inform licensees, consumers and other agency stakeholders of licensing and regulatory developments while fostering increased dialogue and participation in the agency's consumer protection efforts.
This issue focuses on the following and provides regulatory updates and links.
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Administrator-in-Training Program: Changes Ahead? The Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program has helped ensure new nursing home administrators have the necessary skills and experience to become successful. OHLA and NHAB are working together to explore how to improve the already effective AIT program.
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A Board Meeting Near You? Mark Your Calendar NHAB and OHLA are planning to hold two of four annual NHAB meetings in Oregon locales other than Salem to provide licensees and other interested parties the opportunity to get to know the board and learn first-hand how the licensing and regulatory process works. Join us!
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NHAB Joins OHLA: Combining Regulatory, Profession-Specific Expertise NHAB became one of 10 volunteer citizen boards and councils overseen by OHLA in 2009. We provide you with an update on the transition.
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| Administrator-in-Training Program: Changes Ahead? |
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NHAB's Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program is a key part of the qualifying process for prospective nursing home administrators, providing opportunity to gain the skills and experience necessary to be successful in the field.
Drawing on the regulatory expertise of OHLA staff and the profession-specific expertise and public perspective of NHAB members, OHLA and NHAB are exploring how to fine-tune the AIT program to further standardize the process to provide applicants with uniform opportunity for licensure.
A key goal: to distinguish between existing regulatory requirements to obtain licensure and NHAB recommendations, which the board makes during midway and final interviews with AITs.
While Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 853-010-0075(1) states that NHAB "...may deny, suspend, revoke, or take any other action in relation to the disciplining of a licensee or such applicant for licensure...," performing poorly in midway and final interviews does not necessarily affect an AIT's chances to gain licensure.
"We want to reduce subjectivity in the licensing and regulatory process as much as possible," says OHLA Director Randy Everitt. "However, we acknowledge the importance of these interviews in providing AITs with valuable feedback on their training."
"I've always seen the interviews as our primary purpose as a board," says Anita Schacher, who served as NHAB chair in 2009 and is on the board's Qualification & Examination Committee that provided a preliminary review of the program on January 21.
Schacher says AIT interviews provide opportunity for board members to determine if both preceptors and AITs are upholding the requirements of the program, to identify areas of improvement, and sometimes to discover if nursing homes are in violation of public health and safety standards.
In 2005, another OHLA board, the Environmental Health Registration Board (EHRB), eliminated a similar interview requirement from the application process for environmental health specialists. However, the EHRB's oral interview requirement was scored and was a determining factor in qualifying environmental health specialists.
Currently under Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 853-010-0015(6), AITs must be "...personally interviewed by the Board prior to examination."
"I think it's just a conversation that the board wants to have," says Faraz Ahmed, who serves on the Qualification & Examination Committee with Schacher, about the AIT interviews.
NHAB voted at its April 21 meeting to require both the midway and final interviews before AITs can sit for the licensing examination. The requirement must be adopted in administrative rule before it becomes effective.
NHAB also voted on 4/21/10 to recommend removing the master degree exemption that can replace up to 480 hours of the required 960 hours of AIT training and to review how to better standardize AIT training objectives.
 For more information:
April 21, 2010 Nursing Home Administrator Board DRAFT meeting minutes
January 21, 2010 NHAB Qualification & Examination Committee meeting report
Administrator-in-Training (AIT) Program
 What Do You Think? Click here to comment on the AIT program.
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| The Board Coming to a Location Near You? Stay Tuned |
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To encourage participation in board and agency licensing, regulatory and consumer protection efforts, OHLA is promoting the idea of holding board meetings across the state.
"We think it's a great way to reach out to licensees and other board and agency stakeholders," says OHLA Director Randy Everitt. "We want to provide the opportunity for interaction and involvement."
NHAB's Qualification & Examination Committee discussed changing the number of board meetings from four full board meetings to two full board meetings and two outreach meetings at locations throughout the state at its 1/21/10 meeting.
Outreach meetings could include preceptor recruiting, continuing education seminars, and AIT midway interviews among other possibilities.
NHAB voted at its 4/21/10 meeting to approve the committee's recommendation and is exploring potential meeting locations in collaboration with OHLA.
"We look forward to taking our show on the road," says 2010 NHAB Chair Kathleen Elias. "We hope licensees and others interested in nursing home administration issues take advantage of this opportunity to meet us and learn more about what we do."
Interested in hosting a NHAB meeting? Click here to let us know.
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| NHAB Joins OHLA: Combining Regulatory, Profession-Specific Expertise |
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With the passage of House Bill 2243 last summer, the Nursing Home Administrators Board become one of 10 volunteer citizen boards and councils overseen by the Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA).
HB 2243 transferred regulatory oversight to OHLA, with NHAB in an advisory role. Licensees and consumers can expect continued excellent customer service and regulatory oversight as both OHLA and NHAB share a common consumer protection mission.
"The OHLA central agency model has been successful due to the combination of a full-service regulatory agency and oversight with the profession-specific knowledge of our boards and councils," says OHLA Director Randy Everitt.
To provide continuity, former NHAB director Janet Bartel continues to be a valuable resource as her former duties are divided among OHLA staff.
"I think people are finally realizing they don't have to contact me for every question they have," Bartel says. "But I still enjoy hearing from you."
Bartel has been busy as an OHLA investigator, looking into possible violations for sometimes complex cases involving OHLA-regulated professions.
At the second NHAB preceptor training conducted by OHLA on April 6, preceptors and administrators in training (AITs) were introduced to one of the "new Janets," otherwise known as Lisa Murphy, OHLA Licensing Qualifications Specialist.
Murphy oversees the AIT program and confirms that Bartel's knowledge has been instrumental in helping ease the transition.
"There are a lot of variables to the program, so that makes it a challenge to facilitate for both AITs and preceptors," says Murphy. "But I've enjoyed working with them and appreciate having Janet's expertise at my fingertips."
For more information on OHLA, visit http://www.oregon.gov/OHLA/index.shtml.
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| News You Can Use: Resources for Licensees, Consumers |
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Visit www.oregon.gov/OHLA/NHAB to find the latest licensing and regulatory news and resources:
Message from OHLA Director Randy Everitt
Meet Nursing Home Administrator Board Members (biographies)
NHAB Board Meetings & Minutes
Next Nursing Home Administrators Board meeting: Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 9 am at Oregon Health Licensing Agency in Salem, 700 Summer Street NE
NHAB Continuing Education Requirements & Information
Related Web Sites of Interest
OHLA and NHAB offer more than 30 links to resources for licensees and consumers, from the Administration on Aging to the Oregon Health Care Association.
Subscribe to Licensing Line, OHLA's e-mail news update
Licensing Line is OHLA's bimonthly news digest covering licensing and regulatory developments of the agency and regulated professions.
What would you like to see in News You Can Use?
Click here to let us know.
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| Getting to the Issue: Highlighting Key Issues of OHLA, Professions |
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One central agency, multiple professions
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Central Issues is a series of online publications focusing on the key issues of the Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA), the volunteer citizen boards and councils OHLA oversees, and developments in OHLA-regulated professions.
Comments, questions and suggestions on the issues we cover are appreciated. Contact OHLA Public Information Officer Kraig Bohot at kraig.bohot@state.or.us or call 503-373-1939.
Click here to subscribe to or unsubscribe from Central Issues: Nursing Home Administrators Board.
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