Frequently asked questions about STNA Classes at Alia Healthcare Services

I'd like to address some common questions Alia Heath Career Services gets from the STNAs of our own classes as well as from callers from the outside who would like to get current information about their status on the Nurse Aide Registry. You can call the Nurse Aide Registry at (800) 582-5908 (in-state) or (614) 752-9500 (out-of-state) for status information. You can also fax your request to (614) 564-2461, or perform an online inquiry through the Nurse Aide Registry website at:
https://odhlogin.odh.ohio.gov/nar/nar_registry_search.aspx

Finally, you can write to the Registry at:
The Ohio Department of Health
Nurse Aide Registry
246 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Also, we've been asked a lot about the “four month grace period,” and how the Registry calculates the four month grace period?
Paragraph (B) of Ohio Administrative Code (“O.A.C.”) rule 3701-17-07.1 allows a long-term care facility to use an individual who is not listed on the Nurse Aide Registry as a nurse aide for up to four months. However, a facility cannot use an individual as a nurse aide for more than four months unless: a)the individual is competent to provide nurse aide services; b) the individual
has successfully completed an approved training program and passed a required state test, or has otherwise been deemed competent by the Director of Health; and c) the facility has received verification from the Registry that the individual has met the competency requirements. The Registry starts calculating the four month period on the date the facility first uses the individual as a nurse aide, and continues to count each day consecutively (regardless of whether the facility actually utilized the individual as a nurse aide on that particular day) during the period of the individual’s employment as a nurse aide. According to paragraph (G) of O.A.C. rule 3701-17-07.1, the four month “grace period” is cumulative. Specifically, paragraph (G) states that the four month period includes “any time that an individual is used as a nurse aide on a full time, temporary, per diem or other basis by a facility or any other facility.” Thus, no individual may be used as a nurse aide at any facility or facilities for more than a total of four months without successfully completing training and passing the required state test.

Another question we get at Alia Health is what happens if an individual is used as a nurse aide in a facility and quits before the grace period expires? Also, if the same or different facility rehires the individual as a nurse aide, does the individual get another four month grace period?
Well, the short answer is No. Any length of time that an individual is used by a facility as a nurse aide counts toward the four month grace period.