Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

     Purpose: This revision will provide clarification around filling the position of superintendent, in certain situations. Specifically it will:

•	Clarify that the director may appoint an honorably discharged veteran to the position of superintendent in training while he or she complete[s] an administrator in training program in order to become licensed.
•	Clarify that the director will appoint an on-site, full-time interim superintendent who is licensed, but not necessarily a veteran, while the superintendent in training completes the administrator in training program or in other temporary situations.

     Reasons Supporting Proposal: At times, the Washington department of veterans affairs (WDVA) experiences challenges in identifying candidates qualified to be appointed the position of superintendent in a state veterans home. WDVA seeks candidates who are both honorably discharged veterans and licensed nursing home administrators. This proposal will provide clarity around the director's ability to appoint a veteran candidate to the position of superintendent in training while he or she completes an administrator in training program, and appoint an interim superintendent, who may or may not be a veteran, during this time or in other temporary instances.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 484-10-010.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 43.60A.070.

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 09-23-091 on November 17, 2009.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Date Adopted: January 26, 2010.

Heidi Audette

Communications Director

OTS-2791.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 7659, filed 7/28/77)

WAC 484-10-010   State veterans institutions.   (1) The Washington soldiers home and colony, ((and)) the Washington veterans home, and the eastern Washington veterans home shall have, respectively, a chief executive officer to be called a superintendent. The superintendent shall be directly responsible to the director or designee, of the department of veterans affairs, and as such shall be an honorably discharged veteran.

     (2) The superintendent shall be a licensed nursing home administrator in the state of Washington. In situations where a candidate is identified who is an honorably discharged veteran but not yet a licensed nursing home administrator in the state of Washington, the director may appoint the candidate to the position of superintendent-in-training, providing time for the candidate to complete an administrator-in-training program, approved by the Washington state department of health, and pass the nursing home administrators licensing examination. The candidate is eligible for appointment to the position of superintendent once he or she becomes a licensed nursing home administrator. The director will ensure that the facility is directed by an interim on-site, full-time superintendent who is a licensed nursing home administrator and who may or may not be a veteran, while the candidate is in training, or whenever a suitable candidate is not available.

[Order 7659, § 484-10-010, filed 7/28/77.]

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