NRRTS tweaks requirements

WASHINGTON - An amnesty program that allowed new NRRTS registrants to immediately apply for their CRTS designation was so successful that it has become a permanent change.

Previously, NRRTS registrants had to wait two years before applying for their CRTS designations.

“Over the about six months of the amnesty program, we received 50 applications for the CRTS,” said Weesie Walker, executive director of NRRTS. “So I said to the board, 'This is a time where we need to have as many CRTSs as possible,' and they agreed.”

NRRTS registrants must still meet the following criteria: have a documented minimum of three years of experience providing direct service to complex rehab consumers; be an ATP in good standing for a minimum of three years; and complete an application for registry.

Walker says in talking to complex rehab professionals she realized that the two-year waiting period for applying for the CRTS designation was a “turn off.”

“I've always known a lot of people who never became registrants and I could never figure out why,” she said. “Well, this is one of the reasons. For a lot of experienced suppliers out there, (this change) is the motivation they need to join NRRTS.”

While having an ATP on staff may be the ticket-to-work if you want to get paid by Medicare, Walker says the CRTS designation also carries weight—it's required by a number of state Medicaid programs, and it's recognized in CMS's supplier standards.

“It's more specialized,” she said. “In today's world, the CRTS is the only designation for suppliers. Suppliers require a different set of skills.”