SECTION 556.9. Certificate of Registration, Nurse Aide Registry, and Renewal

(a) HHSC is the agency responsible for issuing individuals a certificate of registration and listing them on the NAR.

(b) To be issued a certificate of registration and be listed on the NAR as having active status, a nurse aide must successfully complete a NATCEP, as described in §556.6(i) of this chapter (relating to Competency Evaluation Requirements).

(c) HHSC does not charge a fee to issue the certificate of registration or list a nurse aide on the NAR or to renew the certificate of registration and the nurse aide's listing of active status on the NAR.

(d) A nurse aide listed on the NAR must inform HHSC of the nurse aide's current address and telephone number.

(e) The certificate of registration and the listing of active status on the NAR expires 24 months after the certificate of registration was issued and the nurse aide was listed on the NAR or 24 months after the last date of verified employment as a nurse aide, whichever is earlier. To renew the certificate of registration and active status on the NAR, the following requirements must be met:

(1) A nursing facility must submit a HHSC Employment Verification form to HHSC that documents that the nurse aide has performed paid nursing or nursing-related services at the nursing facility during the preceding year.

(2) A nurse aide must submit a HHSC Employment Verification form to HHSC to document that the nurse aide has performed paid nursing or nursing-related services, if documentation is not submitted in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection by the nursing facility or facilities where the nurse aide was employed.

(3) A nurse aide must complete an HHSC course in infection control and proper use of PPE every year.

(4) A nurse aide must complete at least 24 hours of in-service education every two years. The in-service education must include training in geriatrics and the care of residents with a dementia disorder, including Alzheimer's disease. The in-service education must be provided by:

(A) a nursing facility;

(B) an approved NATCEP;

(C) HHSC; or

(D) a healthcare entity, other than a nursing facility, licensed or certified by HHSC, the Texas Department of State Health Services, or the Texas Board of Nursing.

(5) No more than 12 hours of the in-service education required by paragraph (4) of this subsection may be provided by an entity described in paragraph (4)(D) of this subsection.

Source Note: The provisions of this §556.9 adopted to be effective September 24, 2018, 43 TexReg 6326; amended to be effective August 8, 2021, 46 TexReg 4693; amended to be effective September 27, 2022, 47 TexReg 6201