2008 General Assembly in Final Weeks of Deliberation

VCAL (2/29/2008)

The Virginia Center for Assisted Living (VCAL) continues to seek an extension in the implementation date for the Medication Aide Registry requirement to allow an additional six months for aides to be trained, tested and registered with the Virginia Board of Nursing.  A Senate Budget Amendment introduced by Senator William Wampler contains language that would extend the deadline for implementing the requirement until December 31, 2008.  ALF provider organizations are in full support of extending the date and continue to lobby to have an identical amendment included in the House Budget.  However, until a final decision is made on whether to extend the date, providers are encouraged to move forward with training and testing of their medication aides to ensure an adequate number of registered employees to administer medications in ALFs.