Happy National CNA Week!
By Amanda Johnson | June 18, 2026 | All members
Certified Nursing Assistants are the backbone of long-term care. Every day, they assist residents with bathing, dressing, meals, mobility, and vital signs, but their work goes far beyond tasks. They notice when something is off before it shows up in a chart. They sit with residents who are lonely, advocate for those who can’t speak for themselves, and on the hardest days, make sure no one faces a difficult moment alone.
The work is physically demanding and emotionally deep. CNAs often carry heavy caseloads, work nights and weekends, and build genuine relationships with the people in their care. During National Certified Nursing Assistant Week, we take a moment to say thank you; this work matters, and so do the people doing it.
It is a good time to provide a few reminders on your overall compliance check for your certified nursing assistants. In Minnesota, CNAs must meet both state and federal standards to practice long-term care.
Initial certification
Candidates must complete a Minnesota state-approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation program of at least 75 hours, including at least 16 hours of supervised, hands-on clinical practice. After training, candidates must pass both a written knowledge test and a skills examination.
The Nurse Aide Registry
The Minnesota Nurse Aide Registry, maintained by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), lists nursing assistants who have met Minnesota training and/or testing standards to work in nursing homes and certified boarding care homes. The registry also contains information about nurse aides who have substantiated findings of abuse, neglect, and theft. Employers must verify a nurse aide’s active status before hiring.
Maintaining active status
CNAs must work at least 8 hours in a nursing-related role within each 24-month certification period to maintain active status on the Nurse Aide Registry.
Annual in-service training
In-service training must be sufficient to ensure the continuing competence of nurse aides but must be no less than 12 hours per year. Required topics include dementia management training and resident abuse prevention training, and training must address areas of weakness identified in performance reviews. For nurse aides providing services to individuals with cognitive impairments, training must also address the care of the cognitively impaired.
Amanda Johnson | Chief Operating Officer |
[email protected] | 952-851-2489