Long Term Care Administrator Standards: Modernizing to Reflect Evolving Profession

“Long Term Care” once referred to the services provided by a nursing home - skilled nursing facility (SNF), nursing facility (NF) or intermediate/extended care facility (ICF/ECF). However, the array of service lines that comprise today's pre-and-post-acute care sector has expanded to include a broader continuum of care options with less well-defined boundaries, varying regulatory and payment environments, and emerging, multi-faceted inter-organizational relationships: SNF/NF's, assisted living and residential care communities, and home-and-community-based services (medical and non-medical home health agencies, hospice, adult day centers, transportation and tele health providers) are all becoming more interconnected. Demographic shifts are influencing payment models and consumer expectations. There is one constant, however, amidst this increasing complexity: all of these service providers need appropriately prepared, competent and effective leaders. The National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) [1] has launched an initiative to establish relevant minimum competency standards for administrators across this continuum, with the triple aim of proactively fostering public protection, strengthening the cost-effectiveness of pre-andpost-acute care, and expanding access to appropriate care by bolstering professional mobility