After RI Healthcare Training Program Deemed “Risk to Public,” State Provides Probation Terms

After RI Healthcare Training Program Deemed “Risk to Public,” State Provides Probation Terms

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) has placed a healthcare training program in the state on probation for two years - after the healthcare facility was sanctioned this past spring. 

As GoLocal reported in April, RIDOH "summarily suspended" Ace Training School in Cranston, a licensed nursing assistant training program since 2022, following a complaint. 

In April, RIDOH in its summary suspension said the violations found constituted a "risk to the public." 

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Now, the state agency has placed ACE on probation, and provided a path forward for the school. 

About Sanction

According to RIDOH, on April 21, 2022, it "ostensibly" issued a nursing assistant training program ("NATP") license (number NATP00150) to “ACE Training School, Inc."

"On April 15, 2025, an unannounced site visit was conducted at 815 Reservoir Avenue in response to the Complaint against Respondent," wrote RIDOH. "The site visit and investigation revealed the following:"

The individual the NATP program identified as its program coordinator denied being the coordinator at the time of the visit, indicated that they were an instructor, indicated they had just returned from Florida, and indicated that the program coordinator was another individual who is licensed as a nursing assistant. 

The NATP program was not able to produce a detailed course curriculum that met all the state requirements in accordance with the regulations. The clinical facility involved in clinical training were unable to verify that all the students were at the facility identified by the program or that they had completed the required hours of clinical training identified in the curriculum. 

The students' certificates of completion were signed by a registered nurse who indicated they had no role at the NATP and indicated they were only responsible for the separately licensed affiliated Nursing Home Care business. They also indicated they had no knowledge about the students, their progress in the NATP program or the program's requirements. 

The clinical facility was not approved by RIDOH as required, nor was there a facility contract in place between the program and the facility.  The instructors for the program were not approved by RIDOH as required, nor did they all meet the requirements per the current state rules and regulations. 

The classes were being instructed predominantly in the Spanish language, as evidenced by the text books the students were using and observation by RIDOH staff, thereby not complying with curriculum requirements regarding communications per the current state rules and regulations.

 

Violations of State Law

According to RIDOH, the conduct described constitutes violations of the Rhode Island Administrative Code ("Requirements Pertaining to Nursing Assistant Training Programs”) - specifically, “Duties and Training Program Curriculum" and “Curriculum Outline Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program."

RIDOH said ACE agreed to voluntarily enter into a consent order providing for a sanction of two years probation, and prior to restarting classes, [ACE] must provide RIDOH with a signed clinical agreement form within ten business days after the full execution of this Consent Order; and [ACE] must obtain RIDOH's approval of the signed clinical agreement form identified prior to restarting classes, and "under no circumstances will Respondent restart classes absent such approval."

There were additional curriculum stipulations in the sanction, including that the curriculum requires teaching and determination of competency in "communication and interpersonal skills" and addresses a currículum requirement of "communicating with patients" and that the required curriculum also "addresses reporting and documenting abnormal signs and symptoms of common diseases. 

"As a condition precedent to reopening classes and prior to the execution of this Consent Order, Respondent submitted to RIDOH a detailed curriculum, which RIDOH has approved, that will be used in Respondent's program," wrote RIDOH. 

RIDOH continued: 

As a condition precedent to reopening classes and prior to the execution of this Consent Order Respondent submitted resumes to RIDOH (on multiple dates in June 2025) for a program coordinator and instructors, which RIDOH has approved, subject to the following conditions:

* Any individual serving as program coordinator in Respondent's program must be  physically present and residing in Rhode Island. 

* Should any instructor or program coordinator approved by RIDOH leave the program or otherwise be terminated from the program, Respondent will submit the resume of any proposed replacement to RIDOH, which RIDOH will either approve or reject within ten business days following its receipt of said resume from Respondent. 

ACE also accepted that during two year probationary period, it will be subject to a probation with the following terms: 

* Respondent will hold no more than two simultaneous course sections (such as a morning and evening section), and Respondent will limit each course section to no more than twenty-five  students, that is, no more than twenty-five students will be enrolled in the morning or evening section in a class totaling students.; 

* ACE will provide a program that permits all enrolled students to engage and participate meaningfully, and that trains and prepares students to communicate effectively with patients; 

* No clinical hours shall begin prior to week 6 of the NATP program; 

* All clinical hours set forth in the curriculum will be completed in a skilled nursing facility that is preapproved by RIDOH and will be completed in their entirety; 

* Respondent will notify RIDOH of any staff or facility changes at least 48 business hours prior to those changes going into effect. In the event of an emergency necessitating that a change of staff or facility go into effect in less than 48 hours, Respondent will notify RIDOH of the change immediately (that is, without delay and as soon as reasonably possible under the circumstances). 

* Seven days prior to the first day of each clinical session, Respondent will provide RIDOH a list of all clinical groupings, including who is in the group, and where and when they will be completing their clinical hours; 

* Respondent will maintain individual educational files for each student and graduate. Said educational files shall include any student's application, ESL proficiency exam results, all scored tests or evaluations given during the program period, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and health records required by the clinical facility, and the fully signed clinical documentation form. Said files shall be maintained for a period of two years after students' completion of the NATP program and shall be made available to RIDOH staff promptly upon request; and 

* Respondent will offer its March 14, 2025, morning and evening graduates with the additional 25 clinical hours required pursuant to the last curriculum (May 2019) provided by Respondent to RIDOH at an approved skilled nursing facility in compliance with subsections (d) and (f). Respondent will provide RIDOH with a fully executed clinical documentation form (titled "Nursing Assistant Student Mandatory Clinical Training Documentation") for those students who complete the 25 additional hours. 

 

Next Steps

According to RIDOH, after ACEW completes two years of probation, wherein its License reflects the status of Active Probation, ic apply to RIDOH to request that the status of its License be changed to "Active."