This link from the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long Term Care Administrators has been up since March of this year, but you may not realize that there is a proposition by the board to change to nationally recognized accreditation of Health Facility Administrators. There's not much of a chance this would put many current HFAs out of a job. It would mean the elimination of 90-day programs for individuals without a four-year degree. As long as you've been practicing for at least two years you are be safe.
This proposal is far from going into effect. Twenty out of fifty-two state licensing boards have endorsed the proposal. Why should you support this proposal as a currently licensed HFA?
1. Endorsement would make relocation of Licensed Administrator's an easier process. Currently the process for endorsement in another state is slow and tedious, requiring fees, additional testing, and sometimes a lengthy wait for reciprocity. National Standards could potentially eliminate these short-comings.
2. Increase in median wages. There is currently a dilution of the pool of Licensed Administrators due to State Agencies offering classes for under-qualified candidates to earn there licenses in exactly six months plus 90 days. Not a dilution of talent - don't get me wrong. What I'm talking about is a gap in salary ranges that could potentially entice healthcare corporations to hire low in the low ranges and keep their fingers crossed. What is this doing to the market? Adding qualified candidates, yes, but also bringing down median salaries, which affects opportunities for salary growth in the industry.
3. Improvement in industry respect and continuing education opportunities. Frankly, I'm tired of going to conventions and learning about how many days a Medicare Part A resident has available to them after a three day qualifying hospital stay. As a healthcare professional, I try to hold myself to some minimal industry educational standards. In many organizations, most of the Department Leaders have a higher education than the facility leader. Time to take it up a notch?
It's your own licensing board sponsoring the petition. Currently many states allow anyone that can get through a 90-day course to find an AIT sponsor and ultimately run a skilled nursing facility. This unfortunately is putting our residents and facilities at jeopardy, not to mention increasing the difficulty for current Administrator's to gain reciprocity when needed the most. Support the NAB petition by contacting Randy Linder, NAB Executive Director, at rlinder@bostrom.com.
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