Clinical Staffing Support Resources

Clinical Staffing Support Options for Hospitals & Licensed Long Term Care Facilities

Last Updated: December 14, 2020

During this time of medical surge in Utah and throughout the world, clinical staff such as nurses and doctors are in short supply and heavily relied on. The Utah COVID-19 Unified Command, through the Utah Department of Health, has been working on clinical staffing mitigation strategies since April 2020 using the framework given to States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). We have developed many options to assist hospitals and long term care facilities experiencing clinical staffing shortages, including licensure flexibilities, recruitment efforts and volunteer programs. The table below provides an overview of these efforts, with links for more information. If you represent a hospital or licensed long term care facility and need more information on any of these options, please reach out to a member of the Utah COVID-19 Unified Command Team for assistance.

Option

Description

Student Apprenticeship Programs & Training

Nurse Apprenticeship

The State has approved a temporary nurse apprentice licensure, already with over 300 approvals.  More information can be found on DOPL’s COVID-19 website https://dopl.utah.gov/covid19.html. Additional links: Nurse apprentice application, Certification of Academic Status of Nurse Education

Respiratory Therapist Apprenticeship

A temporary respiratory therapist license has also been approved: Temporary Respiratory Care Apprentice Application , Certification of Academic Status of Respiratory Care Education

Core Competency Training

Some facilities may require additional training of core competencies for students per Utah Administrative Rule R432-270.  Many of these trainings are free of cost and in most cases are not incredibly time intensive.  Please find a table of resources at the bottom of this document.

Workforce Recruitment

Workforce Recruitment

There has been an ongoing push for clinical workforce recruitment through the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS).  Job fairs are held every month with healthcare provider participation.  Providers are encouraged to work with DWS to post “hot jobs” and participate in monthly job fairs.  Visit the https://jobs.utah.gov website.  Details about the job fairs and additional information can be found at https://jobs.utah.gov/employer/localteams.html.

Recruiting Apps for “Moonlighting”

The following may be able to help with short-term staffing needs, such as due to illness or exposure:

If you operate a similar application or service and would like to be listed here please contact krisannbacon@utah.gov

Staffing Agencies

The following are references for State preferred vendors:

Clinical and Personal Aide Volunteers

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)

Several local health departments have clinical level volunteers that may be of assistance to facilities to supplement staffing.  Find your MRC unit here: https://utahmrc.org/#93d8e428-ca9f-400c-bd77-0d2eb93ee8df.  The statutory definition and scope of the Medical Reserve Corps is found here: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26A/Chapter1/C26A-1-S126_1800010118000101.pdf.

Utah Responds! State Registry

The Utah Responds State Volunteer registry is a web-based system developed to facilitate health and medical response through identification, credentialing and deployment of Utah volunteers. Registration is open to Utah’s health and medical professionals, as well as others who live or work in Utah and are willing to assist during a health related emergency or event. https://www.utahresponds.org/

Family Caregivers

Guidance for Long Term Care facilities to use family members to assist with mealtime and routine tasks.  Family caregiver guidance for LTCFs to allow for a dedicated family caregiver

Volunteer Practitioners

A nurse or physician formerly licensed in any US state or territory (unrestricted and in good standing) may apply to work as a volunteer in a qualified setting. More details are found here: https://dopl.utah.gov/md/, and https://dopl.utah.gov/nurse/.

Licensure Flexibilities & Exemptions

Nurses

Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) allows licensed nurses from other states to work in UT without a UT license: https://www.ncsbn.org/nurse-licensure-compact.htm

A licensed LPN in good standing may work as a “practitioner”, per Utah Code: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title58/Chapter1/58-1-S307.html

Certified Nurse Assistants (CNA’s)

No test and certification is required to work as a CNA during the declared emergency, and they may work beyond 120 days: http://www.utahcna.com/covid-19-updates/HotJobs 

CNA’s with expired certificates may apply for reinstatement without additional training and exams.  Certification can remain valid after the declared emergency. http://utahcna.com/media/isap52ro/expired-cna-variance-request.pdf

CMS is waiving the requirements for SNF/NF employees to have mandatory training to stay on longer than four months. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-long-term-care-facilities.pdf

Students in the Nursing Assistant Training & Competency Evaluation Programs (NATCEP’s) are not required to complete 24 hours of clinical training in a nursing facility.

Additional Exemptions

Pharmacy, Medical Assistants, Mental Health, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Military & Federal employees
https://dopl.utah.gov/covid19.html

Telehealth

Telehealth Resources

The Utah Department of Health has set up a telehealth resource page for providers.  The center includes links to in-state resources, billing and reimbursement information for some insurers including Medicaid, and platforms that are available to providers. https://coronavirus.utah.gov/telehealth/

Guidance

Long Term Care Facilities

Guidance for Mitigating Staffing Shortages in Long-Term Care Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

State-contracted COVID-19 LTCs for Hospital Decompression

Beginning December 7, 2020, the State of Utah is implementing specific changes regarding how COVID Centers will be used during the pandemic by leveraging the additional capacity provided by COVID Units.

Utah Department of Health Approved Core Competency Training for Clinical Students

Title Length Cost for Individuals Cost for Groups Contact Information
A Public Health Approach to Alzheimer's and Other Dementias 2.5 Hours No Cost No Cost alz.org/public-health-curriculum
CARES Dementia Certification Varies Varies Varies https://www.hcinteractive.com/CARES
CMS Hand in Hand training Self Taught/ 5 Modules No Cost No Cost https://qsep.cms.gov/pubs/HandinHand.aspx
Certified Dementia Assistant 7 Hrs online/ 8 hrs in person See Website See Website www.certifieddementiaassistant.com;

info@certifieddementiaassistant.com;
Dementia Dialogues 6.5 Hours No Cost No Cost Email healthyaging@utah.gov to schedule.
EssentiALZ 3 Hours No Cost No Cost https://www.alz.org/professionals/professional-providers/dementia-care-training-certification/person-centered-dementia-care-training-program
Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program- Dementia Training 2-3 Hours No Cost No Cost https://utahgwep.org/trainings/dementia-training
HRSA Health Workforce Varies No Cost No Cost https://drive.google.com/file/d/143vBxcNI07YQcWDOGG93z_0OH0llD91J/view?usp=sharing
Teepa Snow- Positive Approach to care Varies Varies Varies https://teepasnow.com/about/about-teepa-snow/who-is-teepa/teepa-training/
HHS HIPAA Training and Resources 1 Hour No Cost No Cost https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/training/index.html