WSR 22-12-081
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Aging and Long-Term Support Administration)
[Filed May 31, 2022, 2:14 p.m., effective July 1, 2022]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department is adding two new sections in chapters 388-71 and 388-112A WAC. The intent is to respond to the backlog of long-term care workers needing training and/or testing for certification caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These rules will allow additional time for long-term care workers to be trained and certified by requiring them to complete training requirements by certain dates based on [no further information supplied]. Workers are also credited with continuing education hours for on-the-job training during the COVID-19 emergency, and deadlines for completing continuing education are also extended.
If the timelines for training, certification, and continuing education are not extended, the inability of long-term care workers to access training, certification, and continuing education during the COVID-19 public health emergency will result in a shortage of long-term care workers which will directly affect public access to quality long-term care services.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: New WAC 388-71-0876, 388-71-0992, 388-112A-0081, and 388-112A-0613.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 22-08-112 on April 6, 2022.
A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting David Chappell, P.O. Box 45600, Olympia, WA 98504-5600, phone 360-725-2366, email david.chappell@dshs.wa.gov.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 4, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 4, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: May 31, 2022.
Lisa N. H. Yanagida
Interim Chief of Staff
SHS-4888.10
NEW SECTION
WAC 388-71-0876When must long-term care workers who were working or hired during the COVID-19 public health emergency complete training, including required specialty training?
(1) Unless exempt from training as described in WAC 388-71-0839 or WAC 388-112A-0090, a long-term care worker affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency must complete training, including required specialty training, as follows:
Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of: | Must complete basic training no later than: |
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020 | 10/31/2022 |
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021 | 1/31/2023 |
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022 | 4/30/2023 |
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022 | 8/31/2023 |
10/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later | 9/30/2023 or within 120 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later |
After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later | Standard training |
(2) Unless exempt from certification as described in WAC 246-980-025, a worker affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency who is required to be certified as a home care aide must obtain certification as follows:
Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of: | Must be certified as a home care aide no later than: |
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020 | 1/19/2023 |
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021 | 4/21/2023 |
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022 | 7/19/2023 |
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022 | 11/19/2023 |
10/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later | 12/19/2023 or within 200 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later |
After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later | Standard training |
(3) "Hired" and "rehired" as used in this section mean the date of hire as defined in chapter 246-980 WAC. A long-term care worker is considered rehired if they held previous employment as a long-term care worker and did not have an active home care aide credential when hired during the time frames outlined in section (1) of this section.
(4) If a long-term care worker is limited-English proficient, the worker may request an additional 60 days to obtain certification.
(5) Nothing in this section prevents a long-term care worker hired between 8/17/2019 and 9/30/2022 from completing training or obtaining certification in advance of the deadlines stipulated in subsections (1) or (2) of this section.
NEW SECTION
WAC 388-71-0992When must continuing education be completed when public health emergency waivers are lifted, and what continuing education credit is granted to long-term care workers employed during the pandemic?
(1) The department finds that long-term care workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, required emergent and intensive on-the-job training. Long-term care workers received critical, ongoing training in such topics as:
(a) Donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE);
(b) Hand hygiene;
(c) Disinfection of high-touch surfaces;
(d) Managing visitations and physical distancing;
(e) Responding to newly infected residents;
(f) Promotion of vaccination;
(g) Protocols for quarantine;
(h) Use of cloth face coverings;
(i) Personal protection outside of the work environment; and
(j) How to reduce exposure and spread.
(2) This on-the-job training was required of all workers in all long-term care environments in Washington state. Instruction was provided in assisted living facilities, adult family homes, home care agencies, enhanced services facilities, certified community residential services, and to individual providers by the SEIU775 benefits group and DSHS to discuss infection control and the availability and distribution of personal protective equipment. Recognition of this training as a valid learning experience, in its various forms, was agreed upon with input from consumer and worker representatives, as the content was based on guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other federal, state, and local health care authorities.
(3) During this time, long-term care workers required ongoing critical training because guidance from the CDC, department of labor and industries, and other health authorities changed as more was learned about the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The department finds that this unprecedented on-the-job training constituted at least 12 hours of continuing education between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, and that this training is not considered to be repeated training as described in WAC 388-112A-0600(2).
(4) All long-term care workers employed during the dates in section (3) of this section are granted 12 hours of DSHS-approved continuing education credit for the training entitled "COVID-19 On-The-Job Training Protocols," bearing the DSHS approval code CE2135218. No physical certificate for this training will be issued or required. The COVID-19 continuing education hours may be applied to renewal periods ending no earlier than March 1, 2020, and no later than December 31, 2021.
(5) The department recognizes that long-term care workers may not have completed training hours in excess of the 12 hours of CE granted in section (4) of this section due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. All long-term care workers shall have until December 31, 2022, or 120 days from the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later, to complete any additional CE that may have become due while training waivers were in place in excess of the 12 hours of CE granted in subsection (4) of this section. If a worker's next birthday allows fewer than 120 days after the waivers are lifted to complete required CE for their current renewal cycle, the worker will have 120 days from the end of training waivers to complete the required CE.
NEW SECTION
WAC 388-112A-0081When must long-term care workers who were working or hired during the COVID-19 public health emergency complete training, including required specialty training?
(1) Unless exempt from training as described in WAC 388-71-0839 or WAC 388-112A-0090, a long-term care worker affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency must complete training, including required specialty training, as follows:
Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of: | Must complete basic training no later than: |
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020 | 10/31/2022 |
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021 | 1/31/2023 |
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022 | 4/30/2023 |
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022 | 8/31/2023 |
10/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later | 9/30/2023 or within 120 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later |
After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later | Standard training |
(2) Unless exempt from certification as described in WAC 246-980-025, a worker affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency who is required to be certified as a home care aide must obtain certification as follows:
Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of: | Must be certified as a home care aide no later than: |
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020 | 1/19/2023 |
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021 | 4/21/2023 |
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022 | 7/19/2023 |
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022 | 11/19/2023 |
10/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later | 12/19/2023 or within 200 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later |
After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later | Standard training |
(3) "Hired" and "rehired" as used in this section mean the date of hire as defined in chapter 246-980 WAC. A long-term care worker is considered rehired if they held previous employment as a long-term care worker and did not have an active home care aide credential when hired during the time frames outlined in section (1) of this section.
(4) If a long-term care worker is limited-English proficient, the worker may request an additional 60 days to obtain certification.
(5) Nothing in this section prevents a long-term care worker hired between 8/17/2019 and 9/30/2022 from completing training or obtaining certification in advance of the deadlines stipulated in subsections (1) or (2) of this section.
NEW SECTION
WAC 388-112A-0613When must continuing education be completed when public health emergency waivers are lifted, and what continuing education credit is granted to long-term care workers employed during the pandemic?
(1) The department finds that long-term care workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, required emergent and intensive on-the-job training. Long-term care workers received critical, ongoing training in such topics as:
(a) Donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE);
(b) Hand hygiene;
(c) Disinfection of high-touch surfaces;
(d) Managing visitations and physical distancing;
(e) Responding to newly infected residents;
(f) Promotion of vaccination;
(g) Protocols for quarantine;
(h) Use of cloth face coverings;
(i) Personal protection outside of the work environment; and
(j) How to reduce exposure and spread.
(2) This on-the-job training was required of all workers in all long-term care environments in Washington state. Instruction was provided in assisted living facilities, adult family homes, homecare agencies, enhanced services facilities, certified community residential services, and to individual providers by the SEIU775 benefits group and DSHS to discuss infection control and the availability and distribution of personal protective equipment. Recognition of this training as a valid learning experience, in its various forms, was agreed upon with input from consumer and worker representatives, as the content was based on guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other federal, state, and local health care authorities.
(3) During this time, long-term care workers required ongoing critical training because guidance from the CDC, department of labor and industries, and other health authorities changed as more was learned about the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The department finds that this unprecedented on-the-job training constituted at least 12 hours of continuing education between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, and that this training is not considered to be repeated training as described in WAC 388-112A-0600(2).
(4) All long-term care workers employed during the dates in section (3) of this section are granted 12 hours of DSHS-approved continuing education credit for the training entitled "COVID-19 On-The-Job Training Protocols," bearing the DSHS approval code CE2135218. No physical certificate for this training will be issued or required. The COVID-19 continuing education hours may be applied to renewal periods ending no earlier than March 1, 2020, and no later than December 31, 2021.
(5) The department recognizes that long-term care workers may not have completed training hours in excess of the 12 hours of CE granted in section (4) of this section due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. All long-term care workers shall have until December 31, 2022, or 120 days from the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later, to complete any additional CE that may have become due while training waivers were in place in excess of the 12 hours of CE granted in subsection (4) of this section. If a worker's next birthday allows fewer than 120 days after the waivers are lifted to complete required CE for their current renewal cycle, the worker will have 120 days from the end of training waivers to complete the required CE.