Once individuals have completed their schooling, each new health and aging services executive may be required to get licensed as a health and aging services administrator. This is mandatory for all nursing home administrators, required in several states for assisted living, and is currently required in one state for home- and community-based
services. Depending on which state an individual wishes to work in, NAB suggests
that each person research whether the state requires a nursing home administrator,
assisted living administrator, or home care operator license to practice (some states require multiple licensures depending on the lines of service operated in a care community). New executives will also have to check to see what each state requires
for continuing (CEs) education once obtaining their initial licensure.
Another opportunity administrators can look into is the Health Services Executive
(HSE) qualification from NAB. Individuals who have never been licensed will need to
sit for a core of knowledge exam that covers all three lines of service (e.g., nursing
home, assisted living, and home- and community-based services), and then a
line-of-service specific exam for each of these areas, to obtain the HSE qualification. Licensed nursing home administrators with three (3) years of experience can provide NAB with current licensure information (e.g., state of license, educational degree) and take additional 50-item examinations (one for assisted living and one for home- and community-based services) to obtain the HSE qualification. When NAB grants someone the HSE designation, that person will have more flexibility to work in multiple lines of service and move between states that have adopted the NAB HSE standard.