Training Criteria & Guidelines

A: In accordance with O.C.G.A. § 31-2-16 training approved by the Center must be completed by “the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, every board member, and every hospital authority member, if operated by a hospital authority pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 7 of this title, of a rural hospital organization as defined in Code Section 31-8-9.1”. The Center has published a list of all affected organizations to clarify the requirement.

A: Currently, the Georgia Hospital Association and Hometown Health are approved trainers. Their contact information is published on our website.

A: The Center has published training cost summaries for both vendors to ensure full price transparency.

A: Board members and executives in place prior to January 1, 2020, were required to complete training on or before December 31, 2020. All board members and executives added after January 1, 2020, have 12 months from their start date to complete training.

A: No. Previous training from a vendor who was not, at the time, approved will not count toward this requirement.

A: New CEOs/CFOs will have a 60 day grace period from their installation date to complete the prerequisite course and 12 calendar months from their installation date to complete the entire training.  Interim CEOs/CFOs will have a 30 day transition period; if they are in that position longer than 30 days, they will be subscribed to the aforementioned 60 day grace period for new CEOs/CFOs.

A: Yes. Hospitals should be prepared to plan ahead for new board members and have the pre-requisite course available prior to their installation. Hospitals are encouraged to work with their vendor on this requirement. In the instance of unplanned board openings, the hospital should communicate with the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center.

A: Learners installed before January 1, 2020, have a training due date of December 31, 2020, regardless of the installation date. Upon completion, these Learners will be certified until December 31, 2022. Any Learner installed on or after January 1, 2020, has 12 months from their installation month to complete training and will be certified for two years thereafter. For example, if a Board member is installed on March 3, 2020, they will have a training deadline of March 31, 2021, and upon completion will be certified until March 30, 2023. Deadlines and re-certification dates are based on installation date regardless of the final date training is completed. If a Learner completes training before or after their deadline, their re-certification date is still based on their due date.

A: There are three ways a person may renew their certification: 1) Complete all of the original training again. 2) Complete 7 hours of approved Recertification Units and a 1-hour review course. 3) Complete some original training and some Recertification Units totaling 7 hours and a 1-hour review course.

A: You may complete the recertification training throughout the 24 months preceding the certificate expiration date. At least 4 hours of training must be completed during the 12 months preceding the certification expiration date.

A: The review course must be taken in the 12 months preceding the certification expiration date.

A: Vendors seeking approval may contact the Center directly or may use the online submission portal. Vendors are highly encouraged to contact the Center as early as possible to receive guidance on their submission.

A: Yes. For training to fulfill the requirements set forth by the state of Georgia, a conforming curriculum that already exists must still be approved by the Center.

A: Yes. The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center is the only entity designated by the state of Georgia to approve curriculum that fulfills the training requirement.

A: Yes. A fee of $1,000 is assessed on all applications. Funds from this fee are used to pay independent reviewers who evaluate the curriculum’s compliance with the Standards.

A: The Approval Process is designed to move very rapidly. We expect all applications to be reviewed and a determination returned to the vendor no more than 30 days after submission, although most will be processed much more quickly.