Failure to Ensure Nurse Aide Certification and Competency Within Required Timeframe
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that nurse aides working more than four months on a full-time basis were trained, competent, and had completed a state-approved training and competency evaluation program, as required. Record review showed that multiple nurse aides (NA-F, NA-I, NA-K, and NA-L) had been hired and working full time without obtaining CNA certification within four months of hire. Employability status checks for these aides, conducted months after their hire dates, documented that they had no CNA certification. The facility’s own job description for nurse aides required that they either have completed a state-approved training and competency evaluation program and hold a current state certificate, or be enrolled in an approved competency training program and perform only services for which they had demonstrated competence. During interviews, the Office Manager acknowledged that nurse aides were required to be certified within four months of hire and stated she was aware that many aides were past that deadline. She reported the facility was waiting for approval to conduct a nurse aide class. The Administrator also acknowledged awareness that many nurse aides were beyond the four-month deadline for certification, explaining that it was very hard to get people certified and difficult to find CNAs in a rural area. She stated the facility had just become certified to offer a CNA class but was uncertain whether the class could be held due to an Immediate Jeopardy that had been called and expressed uncertainty about how to proceed. The report notes that this failure could place residents at risk for receiving inappropriate care from individuals whose skill level was not known.
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