Huduma CNA ProgramsFor a Covington Home Care Aide, the HCA to CNA bridge is a 14-mile, 20-minute drive down SR 18 and a 40-clock-hour commitment: $800 tuition plus about $105 in books and supplies at Huduma CNA Programs in Federal Way, taken as 5 consecutive weekdays or about 2.5 weekends. You need an active Washington HCA credential and a high school diploma or GED to enroll, and you finish with the same $155 two-part exam as every Nursing Assistant-Certified (NA-C) candidate: a $100 skills test administered at the school, then a $55 Credentia knowledge test. Neither Green River College in Auburn nor Renton Technical College lists a separate HCA bridge on its nursing assistant program page, so the Federal Way bridge is the short route for Covington caregivers.
Weekday cohort versus weekend cohort
| Weekday | Weekend | |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar | Monday through Friday, one week | Saturdays and Sundays over three weekends |
| Clock hours | 40 (17 theory, 13 lab, 6 clinical, 4 mock testing) | Same |
| Best for a Covington HCA who | Can take one week from an agency or from Vineyard Park shifts | Works weekdays and cannot leave clients |
| Commute | SR 18 west at weekday hours; afternoon return through Auburn slows | Light traffic, 20 minutes each way |
| Trips | 5 | About 5 |
The 6-hour clinical takes place in a licensed nursing facility during the cohort, and the 4 mock-testing hours run under exam conditions on the final session. Dates for each pattern are on the schedules page.
Who can enroll
- Active HCA credential. Confirm the status on the DOH Provider Credential Search. Only "active" counts; a pending application or an expired credential must be resolved first. HCA credentials renew annually on your birthday.
- High school diploma or GED. A copy is sufficient; foreign documents require an equivalency evaluation.
- Background clearance before the clinical. The DOH check is name-based and statewide. A caregiver who lived outside Washington recently may be sent for fingerprints, so submit consent on enrollment day.
- English. Instruction, mock testing, and the state exam are in English.
Excluded: caregivers who completed the 75-hour DSHS training without passing the HCA exam, and workers exempt from HCA certification. Their route is the 108-hour CNA Traditional program at $1,100. If you are unsure which group you fall in, CNA Traditional vs HCA-CNA Bridge walks through the eligibility questions.
The gap the bridge closes for a Covington HCA
Covington's HCAs work mostly in assisted living and memory care at communities such as Vineyard Park of Covington, in adult family homes, and with private in-home clients. That work covers activities of daily living thoroughly but not the nursing facility routine the state skills test is built around. The bridge's 36 instructional hours concentrate on:
- Documentation and reporting on nursing home flow sheets and to a charge nurse, including what to escalate immediately.
- Vital signs to examiner tolerance: manual blood pressure, radial pulse, respirations, and temperature, recorded within the accepted range.
- Checklist-scored mobility: gait-belt transfers, positioning, ambulation, and passive range of motion, each with critical steps that fail the skill if omitted.
- Catheter, perineal, and elimination care at facility standard.
- Indirect-care steps graded on every skill: hand hygiene, privacy, explanation, call light, and safety.
Under WAC 246-841A-430, programs must allow at least four attempts at the skills exam; the lab and mock-testing hours aim for one. What the mock session looks like is described in mock skills testing for the Washington CNA exam.
Covington to Federal Way, five times
- By car. SR 18 from the SR 516 (Kent-Kangley Road) interchange southwest through Auburn to the highway's end at I-5 in Federal Way. Distance calculators list about 14 miles; plan 20 minutes off-peak and up to 30 in the afternoon peak. Park in the Federal Way Downtown station garage of about 1,500 stalls next to the school.
- By bus. King County Metro's South Link Connections page describes Route 168 through Covington to Kent Station, seven days a week, and Route 183 from Kent Station to Federal Way Downtown Station via Star Lake, with Sunday service added in 2026. Allow 75 to 90 minutes each way.
Five trips at 20 minutes each is under two hours of driving for the whole program.
Cost side by side
| Item | Bridge | Traditional | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $800 | $1,100 | $300 |
| Books and supplies | About $105 | About $105 | None |
| Clock hours | 40 | 108 | 68 |
| Clinical hours | 6 | 40 | 34 |
| Trips from Covington | About 5 | About 20 | 15 |
| Skills test | $100 | $100 | None |
| Knowledge test | $55 | $55 | None |
| DOH application | Per current fee schedule | Per current fee schedule | None |
| Eligibility route | E6 | E1 | Route only |
What the NA-C adds in and around Covington
You keep the HCA credential and gain access to employers that hire only NA-Cs: MultiCare Covington Medical Center at 17700 SE 272nd Street, per the MultiCare location page, with its 24/7 emergency department; MultiCare Auburn about 10 minutes away; St. Francis Federal Way about 20 minutes; and skilled nursing facilities in Kent and Auburn. Indeed's August 2026 data puts the Washington average at about $23.62 per hour and Seattle at $23.80, approximate; skilled nursing differentials for evenings, nights, and weekends typically add $1.50 to $4 per hour. Inside Vineyard Park and similar communities, the NA-C plus a medication assistant endorsement raises pay without leaving Covington. Employers by setting are covered in CNA jobs in Covington, WA.
Steps from enrollment to the registry
- Verify the HCA credential is active; gather the diploma or GED.
- Enroll in a weekday or weekend cohort and sign background-check consent.
- Complete 36 instructional hours, including the 6-hour nursing facility clinical.
- Take mock testing, then the $100 skills test on site.
- When the skills pass shows in the system, book the $55 Credentia knowledge test in online or oral format.
- Apply to the DOH under route E6 with the fee per the current schedule.
- Confirm the NA-C on the Provider Credential Search and notify your employer.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the nearest HCA to CNA bridge to Covington? Federal Way, about 14 miles west on SR 18. Green River College and Renton Technical College list nursing assistant certificates but no separate HCA bridge on their program pages.
How many days off work does the bridge take? Five for the weekday cohort. None from a weekday job for the weekend cohort, which runs about 2.5 weekends.
Is the bridge exam the same as the traditional exam? Yes. The same $100 skills test and $55 Credentia knowledge test; only the eligibility route on the DOH application differs (E6 instead of E1).
Why does Huduma's bridge run 40 hours when the DOH describes 24? The 24 hours is a minimum. The extra lab and mock-testing time exists because bridge students sit the identical skills test that 108-hour graduates take.
Can I keep working at Vineyard Park or with my in-home clients during the bridge? Yes, on the weekend cohort. Weekday cohort students need one week away from weekday shifts.
Does the NA-C replace my HCA credential? No. You hold both; each renews annually on your birthday through the DOH portal.
Cohort options and the enrollment checklist are on the HCA to CNA bridge program page. To see the bridge alongside the three full-length programs near Covington, read CNA classes near Covington, WA.
Which path may fit you?
Already an eligible HCA?
Review the HCA–CNA Bridge Program and confirm the active Washington HCA credential requirement before choosing a class.
Explore the HCA–CNA Bridge ProgramStarting CNA training?
Review CNA Traditional, the complete training route for learners who are not entering through the HCA bridge route.
Explore the CNA Traditional Program