COVID-19 Facility Waivers

Per the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration of Blanket Waivers for Health Care Professionals (PDF) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), CMS is using their authority under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act to waive various staffing requirements for certified health facilities to help healthcare providers contain the spread of COVID-19. Pursuant to Governor Gavin Newsom's Proclamation of a State of Emergency (PDF) and outlined in AFL 20-26.6 and AFL 20-32.1, CDPH has waived specified staffing requirements for licensed general acute care hospitals (GACH), skilled nursing facilities (SNF), and some other non-GACH facilities after it submits an application and is accepted by CDPH. The following facilities have had waivers accepted by CDPH through this established application process.

To view details on training waivers granted during COVID-19, please click here. Copies of a facility's approved waiver form(s) will be available for download. Once available, if you require the forms in a separate format, please contact CHCQWebTeam@cdph.ca.gov.

NOTE: Per AFL 20-26.6,  as of February 1, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will no longer accept any new expedited staffing waivers and any new waiver must be approved by CDPH through the standard waiver process. Also, all existing approved staffing waivers for GACHs expired on February 8, 2021, and no new waivers are issued unless CDPH determines on an individual waiver basis that there is an unprecedented circumstance.