2023 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 63. Public Health and Safety
§63-1-1949.3. Qualifications for license or certification.

A. The State Department of Health shall have authority to issue licenses or certifications to qualified persons as long-term care administrators in accordance with qualification criteria established by the State Commissioner of Health.

B. No license or certification shall be issued to a person as a long-term care administrator unless:

1. The person shall have submitted evidence satisfactory to the Department that the person is:

• a.not less than twenty-one (21) years of age, and
• b.of reputable and responsible character; and

2. The person shall have submitted evidence satisfactory to the Department of the person’s ability to be licensed or certified to serve as a Tier 1 long-term care administrator or Tier 2 long-term care administrator.

C. The Commissioner shall have the authority to determine the qualifications, skill, and fitness of any person to serve as a long-term care administrator under the applicable provisions of the Nursing Home Care Act, the Continuum of Care and Assisted Living Act, the Residential Care Act, and the Adult Day Care Act. The Commissioner shall promulgate rules to determine the qualifications for licensure or certification as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 long-term care administrator. Such rules may, at the discretion of the Commissioner, include a requirement for licensure instead of certification for either or both of the tiers of long-term care administrators.

D. 1. All persons licensed or certified or lawfully serving as an administrator in their defined facility type shall be permitted to continue to serve in their current capacity under their current terms of authorization. The Commissioner may promulgate rules to address future certification and licensure requirements for both tiers of long-term care administrators without effect on the licensure or certification status of those currently certified or licensed. Until such rules are promulgated, current licensure and certification processes and standards shall remain in place.

2. To be eligible for licensure or certification as either a Tier 1 or Tier 2 long-term care administrator, the applicant shall have successfully completed a training and education program approved by the Commissioner.

3. The Commissioner shall not include a requirement for a four-year degree in any licensing or certification requirements for Tier 2 long-term care administrators.

4. In addition to the requirement provided by paragraph 2 of this subsection, to be eligible for licensure or certification as a Tier 1 long-term care administrator, the applicant shall:

• a.hold a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education, or
• b.hold an associate degree in a health- or business-related field or other relevant field as determined by the Commissioner and have not less than five (5) years of experience in upper-level management of a long-term care facility as determined by the Commissioner.

E. Eligible applicants may sit for the state standards examination at a testing facility using procedures approved by the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards including, but not limited to, the use of electronic or online methods for examination.

F. The State Department of Health shall either:

1. Approve one or more organizations or agencies to provide training and education programs for long-term care administrators. Each such organization or agency shall meet such requirements as may be prescribed by rules promulgated by the State Commissioner of Health;

2. Offer a training and education program for long-term care administrators conducted by the Department; or

3. Both approve one or more organizations to provide training and education programs for long-term care administrators as described in paragraph 1 of this subsection and offer a training and education program for long-term care administrators conducted by the Department as described in paragraph 2 of this subsection.

G. 1. Each person licensed or certified as a long-term care administrator under the provisions of this act shall pay an annual license or certification fee which shall be deposited in the Long-Term Care Administrator Revolving Fund described in Section 7 of this act. Such fee shall be determined by the Commissioner. Each such license or certification shall expire on the thirty-first day of December following its issuance, and shall be renewable for a calendar year, upon meeting the renewal requirements and upon payment of the annual licensure or certification fee.

2. In addition to licensure and certification fees, the Commissioner may impose fees on agencies and organizations that provide training and education programs.

3. All revenues collected as a result of fees authorized in this section and imposed by the Commissioner shall be deposited into the Long-Term Care Administrator Revolving Fund described in Section 7 of this act.

H. The State Commissioner of Health shall promulgate rules to provide for licensure or certification by endorsement of long-term care administrators who are licensed or certified in other states that have requirements for licensure or certification of long-term care administrators that are substantially equivalent to or greater than the requirements of this state, as determined by the Commissioner.

I. It shall be unlawful for any person to act or serve in the capacity of a long-term care administrator unless the person is the holder of a license or certificate as a long-term care administrator, issued in accordance with the provisions of this act. A person found guilty of a violation of this subsection shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Added by Laws 1968, c. 100, § 3, emerg. eff. April 1, 1968. Amended by Laws 1991, c. 168, § 3, eff. July 1, 1991; Laws 1995, c. 289, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 2006, c. 291, § 3, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2006, c. 273, § 2, emerg. eff. June 7, 2006; Laws 2011, c. 192, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2016, c. 241, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2016; Laws 2023, c. 271, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2023. Renumbered from § 330.53 of this title by Laws 2023, c. 271, § 13, eff. Nov. 1, 2023.