The Virginia Assisted Living Association (VALA) represents licensed assisted living communities from throughout Virginia of varying organizational structures and resident capacities. We thank the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators (Board) and the Regulatory Advisory Panel (RAP) for considering areas of improvement to the current regulations that will eliminate some of the barriers in the recruitment, licensure, and retention of licensed assisted living facility administrators.

In consultation with many assisted living providers throughout the Commonwealth, having an alternative pathway to licensure that includes licensure based on experience without a requirement to have completed hours at a college or university is crucial to having an expanded pool of candidates. Being able to train passionate staff members from a variety of departments within a senior living community helps to provide continuity of care, enhanced work ethics, and encouragement for providing career pathways that did not previously exist. The creation of the experience pathway to licensure also helps to eliminate the unintentional discrimination of AIT candidates based on income status, since many individuals were unable to go to college due to financial restrictions.

In addition to the alternative pathway to licensure, we have heard many positive comments about the inclusion of continuing education credits for registered preceptors overseeing an Administrator-In-Training. We are optimistic that the inclusion of the CEU opportunity will encourage more qualified, licensed administrators to become a licensed preceptor.

With the increasing number of elderly citizens needing long-term care services and the high number of retirements of administrators as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term care communities need more opportunities to recruit, to train, and to license administrators. With these considerations in mind, we support the Board of Long-Term Care Administrators’ recommendations of amendments to the Regulations Governing the Practice of Assisted Living Facility Administrators.  

Again, we thank you for your considerations to improving the current AIT regulatory process by expanding the eligibility criteria to allow for more individuals to become administrators-in-training. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding these comments.