I support State examination for licensing of adminstrators. Competence and effectiveness in understanding and meeting the regulations of an Assisted Living Facility in the Commonwealth of Virginia can be met by the following:

• Current hiring requirements of an administrator
• AIT program (Administrator-In-Training)
• State examination of the Standards for Assisted Living Facilities
• Continous review of the standards by the Administrator

I have been an Administrator of 2 small group homes with 14 beds for 9.5 years. The cost of taking the prepratory class, as well as the cost of a national examination, is a financial burden for my budget. Small group home administrators make up approximately 25% of the Assisted Living Facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This cost would be burdensom for the small group home budget.

I am also concerned about the lack of administrators to operate facilities in the future under such stringent qualifications and testing, particularly in the face of the emerging baby boomer healthcare crisis,

Please consider a State Examination as an alternative to the Federal Examination. In order to effectively operate an Assisted Living Facility in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I need information on Virginia regulations not national regulations.

Thank you for considering my thoughts,

Linda J. McCorkindale, RN, BSN, CCM

Administrator, Potomac Homes Assisted Living