The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA 1987) required states to initiate and maintain Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Programs and a Nurse Aide Registry.  This was designed to improve the quality of care in long-term health care facilities and to define training and evaluation standards for nurse aides who work in such facilities.  Under the requirements of this Act, the Connecticut Department of Health is required to review, approve, deny, or suspend training programs as outlined in the Federal Code of Regulations (CFR Title 42, volume 3, part 483). The Department is also required to certify and list all individuals who complete a state approved training program and competency evaluation as well as list and maintain a registry of all individuals who are found to have abused or neglected elderly or vulnerable persons, or misappropriated their property. 

Nurse Aide Training Program

• Name, address, and telephone number of the facility, institution or agency offering the program, including the clinical site.  

• The program coordinator/instructor  

• Statement of course objectives; or  

• Description of course content specifying the number of hours in classroom and clinical settings.

The State of Connecticut requires that a nurse aide training program be at least 100 hours in duration and be coordinated by a Registered Nurse with at least 2 years experience, one of which must be in licensed chronic convalescent and nursing home.  Students must complete 16 hours in the following areas prior to any direct contact with the residents:

• Communication and Interpersonal Skills  

• Residents Rights  

• Residents Independence  

• Safety and Emergency Procedures including the Heimlich Maneuver, and  

• Infection Control

The training program must include all other basic theoretical components defined by state and federal regulations, as well as a clinical component where the students are trained on the 25 competency skills of which they will be evaluated on five.  For successful passage of the competency evaluation, the student must pass all five skills. 

The Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section reviews and approves the certified nurse aide training programs throughout the state.

Requirements for Initiating a CNA Program

The Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut, Section 19-13-D8t (l)(1)(A) requires any organization electing to conduct a nurse’s aide training program to submit for review and approval a nurse’s aide training curriculum on forms provided by the Department.  A standardized format has been developed by the Department of Public Health. 

Please use the Sample Curriculum as a “tool” for developing your own individual curriculum. 

It is required that the clinical component of the nurse’s aide training program is provided in a licensed Chronic and Convalescent Nursing Home or Rest Home with Nursing Supervision setting. 

Approval will be granted only after the Department has determined the organization complies with the requirements of the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.  Ongoing approval will be contingent upon on-site observations of training programs by representatives of the Department of Public Health. 

The Classroom Schedule Form is to be used in order to keep the Department of Public Health advised of the DATES and HOURS OF TRAINING of all nurse’s aide training programs to be provided.

Requirements the Primary Training Instructor and Instructors:

• (Primary Training Instructor) The training of nurse’s aides must be performed by or under the general supervision of a registered nurse who possesses a minimum of two years of nursing experience, at least one year of which must be in a chronic and convalescent nursing home or rest home with nursing supervision. 

• Instructors must have completed a course in teaching adults or supervising nurse’s aides.

• Qualified personnel from the health field may serve as trainers in the nurse’s aide training program under the supervision of the nurse’s aide primary training instructor provided they have a minimum of one year of experience in a facility for the elderly or chronically ill of any age within the immediately preceding five years.  These health field personnel may include:  Registered nurses, sanitarians, fire safety experts, nursing home administrators, gerontologists, psychologists, physical and occupational therapists, therapeutic recreation specialists, speech/language/hearing therapists.  All trainers should be, where applicable, licensed, registered and/or certified in their field.

• Licensed practical nurses, under the supervision of the nurse’s aide primary training instructor, may serve as trainers in the nurse’s aide training program provided the licensed practical nurse has two years experience in caring for the elderly or chronically ill of any age.

• The training of nurse’s aides may be performed under the general supervision of the director of nurses.  The director of nurses is prohibited from performing the actual training of nurse’s aides.

Approval of the nurse’s aide training program will include a review and approval of the submitted curriculum, resumes and approval of all instructors, an agreement/contract between a training program and a clinical facility, as well as an on-site review of the training program's class room, skills lab and training equipment and education tools.

***Any nurse's aide training program that receives monetary compensation for their training needs approval from the Office of Higher Education as a Private Occupational School. Approval Procedures for Private Occupational Schools

If you have any additional questions regarding CNA training programs, you can contact the Connecticut Nurse Aide Registry at the Department of Public Health at (860) 509-7603 - press option #1 or by email at dph.nurseaide@ct.gov.