Aides’ Training Waiver Must End for Nursing Home Safety, CMS Told

Advocates for nursing home residents say it’s past time for the Biden administration to reinstate mandatory federal training requirements for nursing aides who handle the bulk of direct patient care at the facilities.

To ensure sufficient staffing levels at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trump administration waived a rule that limited employment for temporary nursing aides to four months at Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities unless they completed state-approved training of at least 75 hours.

In April 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated the guidance, to say “that states evaluate their NATCEP [Nurse Aide Training and ...