(a) An individual who has accumulated hours of work training and work experience in a nursing facility during the COVID-19 public health emergency determination issued by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (COVID-19 public health emergency) is allowed to count such hours worked under a qualified instructor (work training and experience) towards classroom and clinical training hours required as part of a NATCEP. Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, during which the containment of the spread of the COVID-19 virus was necessary, work training and experience will be accepted for this purpose from all nursing facilities regardless of their eligibility to provide or their establishment of a NATCEP.     
      (b) The work training and experience described in subsection (a) of this section must include the minimum requirements in §556.3(j) of this chapter (relating to Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP) Requirements).     
      (c) The instructor for the work training and experience described in subsection (a) of this section must meet the requirements in §556.5(b) of this chapter (relating to Program Director, Program Instructor, Supplemental Trainers, and Skills Examiner Requirements).     
      (d) For an individual with work training and experience described in subsection (a) of this section to count work training and experience hours as classroom and clinical training hours, the facility where the work training and experience was performed must complete a form provided by HHSC. The facility must document the following on the form:      
        (1) the name of the nurse instructor responsible for training and supervising the individual and an attestation that meets the requirements in §556.5(b) of this chapter;       
        (2) a list of the training requirements with an attestation that the individual was trained in each;       
        (3) an attestation that the duration of the work training and experience is at least 100 hours; and       
        (4) the signature of the nurse instructor.       
      (e) A facility without a NATCEP that seeks to have an employed individual certified as a nurse aide must work with an approved NATCEP to complete the criminal background check and approve the individual for the nurse aide certification examinations.     
      (f) Each nurse aide candidate must successfully complete both the written or oral examination and the skills demonstration required by §556.6(g) of this chapter (relating to Competency Evaluation Requirements) to be certified and placed on the nurse aide registry.     
      (g) To be considered in lieu of formal training, an individual's work training and experience must be completed during the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.     
      (h) Under the provisions of this section, a nurse aide must be certified within four months following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.     
      (i) This section only applies to individuals who were hired and accumulated work training and experience hours in a nursing facility during the COVID-19 public health emergency.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §556.100 adopted to be effective December 26, 2021, 46 TexReg 9053