Assisted living is regulated in all 50 states, but not regulated at the federal level. Therefore there is no one set of federal standards upon which to base a national exam. This exam, prepared by the organization that creates the Nursing Home Administrator exam, uses a nursing home model that is not relevant to assisted living. Labor shortages in all areas of health care, including assisted living, have been well documented, and all indications are that the trend will continue. The pool of potential employees will continue to shrink as demand to provide services continues to increase.  Promising executive directors living in the State of Virginia will go to neighboring states where this cost-prohibitive regulation is not in effect.  We would like to raise the bar for our Executive Directors that serve our residents and not limit our options.