Requirements for initial licensure for nursing/skilled nursing facility (includes

ICF/IID) administrator (also known as nursing home administrator) Tier 1 administrator requirements (a) In addition to the general requirements found in this Chapter, each applicant for initial licensure shall meet the requirements in this Section. Applicants must meet all general requirements for licensure. (b) Each applicant shall must provide documentation demonstrating the successful completion provide, or shall cause to be provided, written evidence satisfactory to the Board of one of the following: (1) Baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education; or "Official Proof" [see 490:10-3- 1.1. (relating to evidence requirements)] of successful completion of a formal program or program(s) of study, wherein applicant received, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree: (A) applicant received a bachelor's degree from a college or university accredited by one of the regional accreditation organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Board if the applicant's degree is from a school domiciled in the United States; or (B) if the applicant received his degree from a college or university domiciled outside the United States [and, as such, the college/university does not fall under the accreditation purview of any of the six (6) regional accreditation organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and by the Board], applicant shall, at applicant's expense, cause a degree equivalency evaluation of his degree to be performed and the results sent directly to the Board. The Board shall assess the results of this degree equivalency evaluation and, at its sole discretion, determine if applicant's education and/or degree are equivalent, at a minimum, to a bachelor's degree earned from a regionally accredited college or university; 24 (2) Associate degree in a health- or business-related field or other relevant field and not less than five (5) years of experience in upper-level management of a long-term care facility. (c) Unless granted a waiver for one or more of the requirements, applicants must successfully complete the following within twenty-four (24) months of submitting an application for initial licensure: (1) A Department or NAB-approved training; (2) The required internship; and (3) Passing score on the following required examinations: (A) The Oklahoma State Standards examination; (B) The NAB Core examination; and (C) The NAB NHA Line of Service examination; (d) An applicant's training instructor must attest to the readiness of an applicant prior to the student being eligible to take the examination. Instructors must provide the Department with all signed student attestation forms. (e) A waiver for the required training may be granted by the Department if: (1) the applicant has a degree in long-term care administration from a NAB-accredited institution; or (2) the applicant was previously licensed in Oklahoma as a Tier 1 administrator, was in good standing with the Department while previously licensed in Oklahoma, and has been active in long- term care for at least two (2) of the last five (5) years; or (3) the applicant provides evidence of the completion of a training that meets or exceeds NAB recommendations for training from another jurisdiction. (f) A waiver for the required internship may be granted by the Department if the applicant presents documentation of an internship that meets or exceeds NAB recommendations for internship requirements. (g) An applicant with a verified HSE qualification may be issued a license upon submission of correctly completed application with the required application fee once the applicant has passed the State Standards examination and has had a favorable background check completed. (2) Receipt of a passing score on the national "NAB" NHA examinations (Core and NHA Line of Service (LOS)) conducted by the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) as discussed in paragraph 10-3-2 OAC 310:679-10-12 of this document. (3) Receipt of a passing score on the Oklahoma State Standards examination within the twenty-four (24) months preceding the month in which the Board will be taking action to license the applicant, and if applicant is not licensed during this 24-month time period, applicant will have to pay all required fees and re-take the examination prior to any future licensing attempts; (4) Successful completion of Administrator University or a presumptively approved NAB-approved entry level course for Nursing Home Administrators within the twenty-four (24) months preceding the month in which the Board will be taking action to license the applicant, and if applicant is not licensed during this 24-month time period, applicant will have to pay all required fees and re-take Administrator University prior to any future licensing attempts (if the candidate has a degree in long term care administration from an institution accredited by NAB, the Administrator University may be waived); (5) Successful completion of the Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program (or documentation of an equivalent internship as part of a degree in long term care from an institution accredited by NAB) within the twenty-four (24) months preceding the month in which the Board will be taking action to license the individual, and if applicant is not licensed during this 24-month time period, applicant will have to pay all required fees and complete another AIT program prior to any future licensing attempts; and; (6) Payment of the required fee(s). (7) An applicant with the HSE credential/qualification will have been verified through/by NAB. This means the Board has been assured by NAB that the applicant has: (A) met or exceeded the minimum education requirement, (B) passed the NAB NHA exam as well as the NAB RCAL exam and NAB HCBS exam and 25 (C) met or exceeded the requirement for AU and AIT, either by experience or education, and shall only be required to take and pass our State Standards examination and pay the required fees to be licensed as a NHA in Oklahoma. (c) (h) The Board Department, at its sole discretion, may waive the Administrator University administrator training requirement, the internship requirement, and/or the Administrator-in-Training requirement or both if the applicant was previously licensed in Oklahoma as a long term long-term care administrator, was in good standing with the Board Department while applicant was previously licensed in Oklahoma, and has been active in long term long-term care for at least two (2) of the last five (5) years. (d) After the Board's staff has determined that all requirements for initial licensure have been met, an applicant may apply for a "temporary" license. The Executive Director may review and approve or disapprove issuance of a temporary license after an application has been made and additional licensure fees paid. An approved temporary license shall expire at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board when the application for licensure (no longer temporary) must be approved or disapproved by the Board.