Situation Report | April 18, 2022
On April 11, 2022, the state Department of Health (DOH) issued a “Dear Administrator Letter” (DAL) that provides updated information regarding verification of training and certificate validity for the hiring of Personal Care Aides (PCAs), Home Health Aides (HHAs), and Advanced Home Health Aides (AHHAs). The DAL also provides additional guidance on training documentation verification for hiring PCAs, HHAs, and AHHAs.
To view the DAL, along with other guidance please click here.
DOH advises agencies who are reviewing individuals as potential employees as PCAs, HHAs, and AHHAs to review all available requisite materials to determine that the individual has received training from an approved DOH or New York State Education Department (NYSED) training program. The requisite materials may include the certificate of completion (if available) but must include the Home Care Registry (HCR) aide profile.
PCAs, HHAs, or AHHAs are not required to provide the hiring agency with a copy of their certificate for employment purposes if they are listed in the public view on the HCR. However, all documentation that was reviewed for a position should be included in the aide’s personnel file and be available to surveyors, upon request.
Individuals not listed in the HCR as a PCA, HHA, or AHHA cannot be considered for employment and would need to attend an approved training program to become certified prior to obtaining employment in these positions.
In other guidance, DOH has reminded agencies that in addition to ensuring that any aide used to provide home care services is listed in the HCR, they must also ensure the aide’s competence to undertake any task assigned to him/her. Presence in the HCR is not in all cases sufficient to demonstrate competence.
In addition to verifying the PCA, HHA, or AHHA training of a potential employee, the hiring agency must also verify the validity of the certificate. There are differing requirements for each certification type:
- PCA certificates do not have an expiration date and therefore do not lapse.
- HHA certificates do not have an expiration date, but they will lapse if the HHA has not worked for a home care or hospice agency within a 24 consecutive month period.
- AHHA certificates do not have an expiration date; however, to maintain the AHHA certification, individuals are required to maintain their HHA certificate (as indicated above) and are required to complete 18 hours of in-service annually in order to maintain their AHHA certification status on the HCR.
For PCA and HHA certificates, annual in-service requirements do not impact the certificate status; completion of in-services is a condition of employment only.
Agencies are reminded that they should not add an aide to their HCS roster until they have verified the certificate and checked the certificate validity.
Any questions regarding this information should be sent to hcreg@health.ny.gov .