Ohio Certification System (cont.)

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The Ohio certification program differs in other ways from the Texas program. Although Ohio initially had a grandfathering provision, it lasted for only one year and required only that a person had worked as a CHW “at some point.”

The Ohio system closely relates CHW practice to nursing practice. Registered nurses are allowed to delegate certain nursing tasks to CHWs. There is more medical content in the Ohio standard CHW curriculum than in the Texas curriculum. Instructors do not have separate credentialing, and certain professionals, such as registered nurses, are automatically considered qualified to teach CHWs.

Perhaps most significantly, Ohio is the only state to have established standards for quality of care for CHWs. This is a feature that all states considering CHW credentialing may want to review.