WSR 23-06-023
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Aging and Long-Term Support Administration)
[Filed February 22, 2023, 8:40 a.m., effective February 22, 2023, 8:40 a.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately upon filing.
Purpose: WAC 388-71-0992 When 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? and 388-112A-0613 When 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? The department of social and health services (department) is providing an extended time for long-term care workers to complete continuing education requirements in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The department will be granting 12 hours of on-the-job training continuing education. A set deadline of 120 days after the end of the gubernatorial waivers to complete any other continuing education that may become due while the waivers were in place.
In response to community partner concerns, the department is extending the deadline until August 31, 2023, to allow more time to complete continuing education requirements.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-71-0992 and 388-112A-0613.
Under RCW
34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: Long-term care workers hired or rehired during the COVID-19 public health emergency are required to complete 12 hours of continuing education annually by their birthdate. Stakeholders have reported that there are a significant number of workers still needing to complete continuing education hours that came due while the pandemic waivers were in place. This is affecting workers' ability to meet requirements for current renewal cycles because hours must be applied to the older renewal cycles first. This will result in long-term care workers being out of compliance and create risks to clients being able to access qualified workers for provision of their personal care services.
To prevent this, the department is extending the deadline until August 31, 2023, to allow more time to complete continuing education requirements.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, 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 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, 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 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: February 22, 2023.
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator
SHS-4971.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 22-12-081, filed 5/31/22, effective 7/1/22)
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)))388-71-0985.
(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))must complete all other continuing education requirements that came due while training waivers were in place in excess of the 12 hours of CE granted in section (4) of this section no later than August 31, 2023. Continuing education hours due for renewal cycles occurring between October 28, 2022, and August 31, 2023, must be completed no later than August 31, 2023.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 22-12-081, filed 5/31/22, effective 7/1/22)
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))must complete all other continuing education requirements that came due while training waivers were in place in excess of the 12 hours of CE granted in section (4) of this section no later than August 31, 2023. Continuing education hours due for renewal cycles occurring between October 28, 2022, and August 31, 2023, must be completed no later than August 31, 2023.