NHA Panel
This week's meeting featured a panel of speakers discussing the steps to become a licensed Nursing Home Adminstrator in the state of Pennsylvania. Our guests were Professor Frank King, Dr. Mark Sciegaj, and Professor Rick Shurgalla. Professor King is an Instructor for HPA, teaching classes like HPA 210 and 455, Dr. Sciegaj is a Professor of HPA, Associate Director of the Penn State Smart Spaces Center, and Undergraduate Professor-in-Charge, who also teaches HPA 101, and lastly, Professor Shurgalla is an Assistant Teaching Professor for HPA and the MHA program, and the Director of Undergraduate Professional Development for HPA, teaching HPA 390 and HPA 395.
Dr. Sciegaj first explained how he has helped the HPA curriculum to evolve over the years to include courses on healthcare reimbursement and payment (HPA 210), long-term care administration (HPA 442), and aging policy (HPA 497). He also helped to approve the NHA course now offered on campus and taught by our very own Professor King. Dr. Sciegaj also noted that they are working on developing an Elder Services Administration minor in the future.
Professor Shurgalla manages the internships for HPA undergraduate students. He has created a database with over 400 internships where students have completed their internships in the past, along with contact information, to help future students secure the internship of their dreams. He is working hard at finding more internships in the long-term care field since students have been showing more interest and it is a growing industry. Furthermore, Professor Shurgalla has been trying to get increased funding for internship credits, since he knows the financial hardship this can put on some students. In the future, multi-semester internships will be possible, along with an observational shadowing course and a co-op like experience. He also added that it may be possible to have your 320 hour internship requirement count towards the 1,000 hour AIT requirement.
Lastly, Professor King gave an excellent overview of the vast opportunity that exists within the field of long-term care as a licensed Nursing Home Administrator. $3.5 trillion is spent annually in America on healthcare, and it is projected to be compounded 5.5% each year to reach $5.7 trillion by 2026! This will equate to roughly 20% of the nation's GDP, as opposed to the 18% we are currently at. In addition, by 2030, 1 in 5 people will be above the age of 65. There is clearly a growing population of seniors, and a licensed Nursing Home Administrator is required for every skilled nursing facility. Out of the 12 million people living in PA, only 1,500 are NHAs. Therefore, there is a very high demand and a very low supply, providing a great opportunity for our HPA students. The average salary of a NHA in PA is $106k, with an assistant administrator making $75-80k, while the average HPA graduate makes $51k. This is a very challenging, high pressure job, but also very rewarding and fulfilling.
While each state has its own specific licensure requirements, Professor King outlined what is necessary in PA. The most likely path for HPA grads includes obtaining their Bachelor's degree, completing the 120-hour NHA course, and participating in a 1,000 hour Administrator-In-Training (AIT) program. The 120-hour course was offered for the first time at University Park this past May of 2018, and will be offered Spring semester of 2019 on Fridays and 3 Saturdays over 16 sessions corresponding to the 16 state-defined topics. The course will also include an experiential trip to Windy Hill. Once students have completed the course and AIT program, they will be eligible to apply and sit for the state and national exam. All NHAs are required to have 48 hours of continuing education units every two years to maintain their license.
Our members left knowing exactly what steps they had to take in order to obtain their NHA license, a career path many had not considered prior to this meeting. We are so grateful to our guest speakers for inspiring the next generation of NHAs!
