So, you have decided you want to be an Assisted Living Facility administrator in the state of Virginia? Where do you even begin? This is a high-pressure position, full of long hours and difficult conversations. But it is extremely rewarding if your heart is in it for the right reasons and will leave you everlasting memories of providing care for seniors. The state of Virginia has issued the following requirements for the training of assisted living facility administrators:
22VAC40-73-160. Administrator training.
- For a facility licensed only for residential living care that does not employ a licensed administrator, the administrator shall attend at least 20 hours of training related to management or operation of a residential facility for adults or relevant to the population in care within 12 months from the starting date of employment and annually thereafter from that date. At least two of the required 20 hours of training shall focus on infection control and prevention, and when adults with mental impairments reside in the facility, at least six of the required 20 hours shall focus on topics related to residents’ mental impairments. Documentation of attendance shall be retained at the facility and shall include the type of training, name of the entity that provided the training, and date and number of hours of training.
- All licensed administrators shall meet the continuing education requirements for continued licensure.
- Any administrator who has not previously undergone the training specified in 22VAC40- 73-40 C shall be required to complete that training within two months of employment as an administrator of the facility. The training may be counted toward the annual training requirement for the first year, except that for licensed administrators, whether the training counts toward continuing education and for what period of time depends upon the administrator licensure requirements.
- Administrators who supervise medication aides, as allowed by 22VAC40-73-670 3 b, but are not registered medication aides themselves, shall successfully complete a training program approved by the Virginia Board of Nursing for the registration of medication aides. The training program for such administrators must include a minimum of 68 hours of student instruction and training, but need not include the prerequisite for the program or the written examination for registration. The training shall be completed prior to supervising medication aides and may be counted toward the annual training requirement in subsection A of this section, except that for licensed administrators, whether the training counts toward continuing education and for what period of time depends upon the administrator licensure requirements. The following exceptions apply:
- The administrator is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to administer medications; or
- Medication aides are supervised by an individual employed full-time at the facility who is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to administer medications.
- Administrators who have completed the training program specified in subsection D of this section and who supervise medication aides shall be required to annually have (i) four hours of training in medication administration specific to the facility population or (ii) a refresher course in medication administration offered by a Virginia Board of Nursing approved program. Administrators are exempt from this annual medication training or refresher course during the first year after completion of the training program noted in subsection D of this section. For unlicensed administrators of a facility licensed only for residential living care, this annual medication administration training or course may be counted toward the annual training requirement specified in subsection A of this section. For licensed administrators, whether the training counts toward continuing education and for what period of time depends upon the administrator licensure requirements.
- If a designated assistant administrator, as allowed in 22VAC40-73-150 E supervises medication aides, the requirements of subsections D and E of this section apply to the designated assistant administrator.