Failure to Monitor and Maintain Active Nurse Aide Certification
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a nurse aide maintained an active Nurse Aide I certification as required by the North Carolina Nurse Aide Registry. Record review and staff interviews revealed that the nurse aide's certification had expired, yet she continued to work multiple shifts as a nurse aide after the expiration date. The nurse aide was unaware of her certification lapse until about a month after it had expired, as she did not receive any notification via mail or email. She subsequently completed the necessary online forms and obtained the required RN signature for renewal, but this occurred after she had already worked several shifts with an expired certification. The Human Resources Director, who was responsible for reviewing Nurse Aide Registry verifications, stated that she reviewed all verifications every six months and attributed the oversight to human error. The Administrator confirmed that the HR Director was responsible for notifying staff of upcoming certification expirations, and acknowledged that the lapse in monitoring led to the nurse aide working without an active certification. The deficiency was identified through record review and interviews with the involved staff and registry representatives.