Becoming an Assisted Living Administrator

Assisted Living Administrators manage and supervise health care services for older people who need regular care with daily tasks, such as bathing, eating and dressing etc. at assisted living centers. They are responsible for managing staff, coordinating care plans, creating schedules and evaluating operations to ensure adequate and appropriate care and treatment to the residents. They are also responsible for overseeing billing, budgeting, employee training and other administrative duties.

Assisted Living Administrators work at nursing homes, assisted living centers and various health care centers. They may be required to work overtime to coordinate with employees and provide better health care to the residents.

Educational Requirements

To become an Assisted Living Administrator, the aspiring candidates need to hold at least an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree, such as the Associate of Science in Assisted Living Administration or Bachelor of Science in Health Administration.

Students can pursue Master’s Degree or higher studies in a field like health care administration or health sciences management for better job opportunities in this field. The course work for these programs includes business, law and clinical management courses.

Certification and Licensure

Since most states of USA require an Assisted Living Administrator to be licensed, the aspiring candidates need to pass a licensing exam and complete a state-approved training program. Institutions like Center for Health Services Education and Research offer voluntary certification while the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) offers a licensure exam for Assisted Living Administrators.

Skill Set

Assisted Living Administrators possess wide range of knowledge in various fields such as finance, business management and governing regulations for assisted living. In addition, they hold various traits such as organizational and leadership quality, analytical and problem solving capacity, pleasant communication and interpersonal skills, ability to remain calm under pressure, work with compassion, computer skills etc.

Job Outlook and Salary

The job outlook for an Assisted Living Administrator remains excellent across the USA. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the growth rate for job opportunities in this profession may rise 22 % from 2010 to 2020, higher than the average for all occupations. The average annual salary of an Assisted Living Administrator was $88,580 in May 2012.