Adult Care Education Center’s Blog

The purpose of this blog posting is to clarify regulatory requirements for Medication Aides in Virginia.
The Code of Virginia authorizes unlicensed persons to administer medications in congregate housing facilities in Virginia. Such housing includes assisted living facilities, adult day care and youth and residential facilities as well as group homes, juvenile justice facilities and in jails and prisons. Each of these facilities is licensed by a state agency. Different agencies have different rules and regulations governing medication management. Below is a brief summary of a few.

Registered Medication Aide (Assisted Living Facilities only)
In 2005 the Virginia General Assembly passed a law that Medication Aides employed in assisted living facilities must be placed on a registry maintained by the Board of Nursing (BON). To be placed on the registry, an aide must complete the Board of Nursing approved 68-hour medication aide training program taught by an approved trainer, and successfully complete a state competency examination. Once on the registry, the aide must renew annually and abide by Regulations Governing Medication Aides.
These regulations are available at the BON website: www.dhp.virginia.gov/nursing

Medication Aide (All other facilities except child care centers)
Medication Aides employed in non-assisted living facilities must also complete a Board of Nursing approved program. However, these aides are allowed to complete the 32-hour Medication Management for Medication Aides Curriculum, taught by an approved facility trainer. This curriculum was last revised and approved by the Board of Nursing in the year 2000.
Please note that Medication Aides may NOT administer medications in a nursing homes or in home health agencies. Note also that Medication Aides employed in child care centers must complete a special curriculum


MAT (Medication Administration Training for child day programs)
Child care providers who work in licensed or regulated child day programs and who give prescription medications to children are required by the Code of Virginia to satisfactorily complete the MAT course. The MAT is a competency-based course approved by the Board of Nursing (BON) and Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) to train providers who work in child day programs to safely administer medication to children. The MAT course must be facilitated by an approved MAT Trainer.

Planning for pandemic influenza is critical for ensuring a sustainable healthcare response. The Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a checklist to
help long-term care and other residential facilities assess and improve their preparedness for responding to pandemic influenza.
*********************************
View the checklist here.
*********************************
Based on differences among facilities (e.g., patient/resident characteristics, facility size, scope of services, hospital affiliation), each facility will need to adapt this checklist to meet its unique needs and circumstances. This checklist should be used as one tool in developing a comprehensive
pandemic influenza plan.

Additional information can be found at www.pandemicflu.gov.

I was sent a notice today about the new Caregiver Stress online training through ACEC.

Did you know there are 2 types of stress? There is helpful and harmful stress. The training also gives insight as to what stress can do to us and how our bodies and behaviors reflect this stress.

Most of us are caregivers in one fashion or another. Some of us have aging parents, and/or children, some just have pets that keep us very busy. But no matter who we take care of it can be stressful at times.

Not knowing our future, and living in an unpredictable world, we can face daily stress at home, work, and throughout our personal lives. It can be internal or external factors such as our daily work schedule to the economy. Some things we have more control of than others. The key is what to do with stress when it “hits” you.

Some people can handle stress better than others. Some show it in their facial expressions, or within their entire demeanor. Some people bottle it up entirely causing damage to their health or lashing out when it gets to be too overwhelming.

With everything in life it is all about moderation and changing the things you have control over. Finding out what stresses you is the first step. Next, is to decide if the situation can be changed, and if so how? Who can help you change your stressful situation? When can it be changed?

You will be better off if you can identifying the stress, and what resources you have available to you to make it manageable. Sometimes resources include books, support groups, blogs, or simply people to delegate tasks to, so you can take a breather. We all need to take a break now and then so pulling your resources together helps you form your “team” that will be there for you when you need it most.

We need to plan things out, have goals and certainly prioritize. Planning ahead improves your chances of turning your harmful stress into helpful stress. Sure it’s easier said then done for most, but the more you practice the better you will become. It’s no better time than the present to take a moment and recap your day, and to reflect on the things that are important to you. Never forget to take “me time”. Take time out also to identify your stressors and how you plan on taking care of them moving forward.

I can’t wait to use the ACEC Caregiver Stress material for trainings with staff and decision makers of potential residents. We all need to be reminded of keeping a balanced life, seeking help when needed and finding out what is stressing us in the first place. I recommend this online training for everyone!

We are in the process of gathering articles from our contributing writers.  If you are a caregiver, administrator, or service provider in the long term care industry, you are encouraged to email us and request a contributing writer account.