1. Partial Exemption from Continuing Education (CE) Requirements for 2021 Renewal
Due to ongoing concerns with the COVID emergency and access to continuing education courses, the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators (“Board”) voted at its September meeting to grant licensees a partial exemption from completing 10 hours of continuing education for purpose of 2021 licensure renewals. This means that, for renewal of licenses by March 31, 2021, licensees will be required to attest to completion of 10 CE contact hours for the previous year (from April 1, 2020-March 31, 2021) instead of the usual 20 CE contact hours in order to renew their licenses.
The 10 hours of required CE can be obtained through approved coursework in a format permitted in the regulations – live courses, online courses, or self-study courses. For more information on what courses may be acceptable as live courses, see the information provided in #2 below.
Also, the Board’s regulations, 18VAC95-20-175(A)(1) and 18VAC95-30-70(A)(1), specify that up to 10 CE hours in excess of the number required may be transferred or credited to the next renewal year. For 2021 renewals, the number of hours required pursuant to the partial exemption is 10 hours.
Please note that this partial exemption only applies to 2021 renewals and does not impact the educational requirements for other regulatory agencies, including the Virginia Department of Social Services or the Virginia Department of Health/Office of Licensure and Certification.
2. Live, in-person courses during the COVID public health emergency
Also in September, the Board formalized guidance for licensees regarding the completion of live coursework hours during the COVID public health emergency.
The Board’s regulations, specifically 18VAC95-20-175(A)(1) and 18VAC95-30-70 (A)(1), provide that, “Up to 10 of the 20 [required, approved continuing education] hours may be obtained through Internet or self-study courses…”
The Board adopted the following guidance:
During the pendency of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Board interprets these provisions to mean that the 10 hours of continuing education required in addition to the hours that may be obtained “through Internet or self-study courses” are required to be live coursework hours. These live coursework hours may be satisfied by attendance of (1) in-person programs or courses or (2) real-time, interactive programs delivered via teleconference or webcast where there is an opportunity to interact with the speaker.
Please note that the Board’s guidance, as reflected in a new Guidance Document 95-13, is currently pending a 30-day public comment period. The public comment period will be open on the Virginia Town Hall website from October 12, 2020 to November 12, 2020. The anticipated effective date of the Board’s guidance will be November 12, 2020.
