The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living urged CMS Oct. 3 to reinstate a blanket waiver allowing nursing homes to employ temporary nurse aides.
CMS ended the waiver that permitted temporary nurse aide employment June 6, giving aides only four months to become certified nursing assistants. The agency has offered short-term exceptions to the rule for submitted requests.
"Temporary nurse aides stepped up during the pandemic to serve our nation's seniors in their hour of need, and now they are on pins and needles waiting to hear if they’ll have a job come Friday," said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. "It's time to cut the red tape and bring certainty to these heroic caregivers and their residents who have come to rely on them."