New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed an emergency order on Dec. 30 authorizing certain military service members and emergency medical technicians to obtain temporary licensure as a licensed nursing assistant, as part of the state’s efforts to combat Covid-19.

The order allows military service members with certain specialty codes indicating medical training, who have used that training in the last three years, to apply for temporary nursing assistant licenses through the state Board of Nursing. Emergency medical technicians can also apply for the licenses.

“This Emergency Order provides yet another tool to ensure that healthcare providers across the Granite State are able to maintain workforce and continue to provide quality care as we distribute the Covid-19 vaccines,” Sununu said. “By allowing current or former military service members and emergency medical technicians who have met New Hampshire’s requirements to temporarily work as licensed nursing assistants, we are providing yet another tool to combat this pandemic as it draws to a close. The light at the end of the tunnel is within sight.”

This order follows a Dec.10 order authorizing certain nursing students to obtain temporary licensure.

New Hampshire has had a shortage of nursing home caregivers since before the pandemic, and is losing LNAs as people leave the profession because of irregular hours, worries about Covid-19 and the low pay that is tied to the state’s low Medicaid reimbursement rate — the lowest in the country, The New Hampshire Union Leader reported.