The Virginia Board of Nursing will not be applying to CMS for a statewide Temporary Nurse Aide (TNA) waiver related to the Nurse Aide Training Competency and Evaluation Program (NATCEP) requirements.

• Facilities still have the option of applying for an individual facility waiver as outlined in the August 29 revision of QSO-22-15-NH.

Your feedback from earlier this month indicated that there were a significant number of individuals who already have NATCEP exam dates after October 6 due to Credentia backlogs in test scheduling issues.

Even after we shared this information with the BON, the Board determined that individual facilities should submit their own waivers for these nurse aide candidates.

• Virginia will allow these individuals to take the exam through the remainder of the federal public health emergency (PHE). The PHE is currently set to expire on October 13, 2022. Officials continue to state that they will provide 60 days’ notice before ending the PHE, which was not given yet.

When to apply for an individual facility waiver: If your organization has nurse aides who have already been deemed eligible and approved by the BON to take the NATCEP exam and have an exam date scheduled prior to October 6, you can apply for an individual facility waiver.

• When there are localized barriers to training/testing in a state or county not otherwise covered by a waiver, facilities may request a waiver by providing documentation of the barriers. The documentation must include information demonstrating that the aide(s) have attempted to become certified (e.g., enrollment in training or testing), but the NATCEP entity cannot accommodate the applicant(s) at this time.
• As a reminder, TNAs will not be permitted to work after October 6, 2022 unless you have received a waiver extension in writing from CMS.

Review this guide for SNFs/NFs– Requesting Waiver for Training & Certification of Nurse Aides.

• It includes information on the documents needed to apply for a waiver, a link to the CMS submission portal, and helpful tips.

Mark your calendar for a demo led by CMS and AHFSA on how to submit the NATCEP waiver via the 1135 web portal.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81077367271?pwd=dVFOVnlZSkRTQWJrQk8yQXNrTnFKUT09

Meeting ID: 810 7736 7271
Passcode: 356608

One tap mobile
+13092053325,,81077367271#,,,,*356608# US