HCA to CNA Bridge Near Edmonds, WA: 40-Hour Weekday and Weekend Options

An Edmonds Home Care Aide who holds an active Washington HCA credential can become a Nursing Assistant-Certified (NA-C) through a 40-clock-hour bridge instead of the 108-hour traditional course. At Huduma CNA Programs in Federal Way the bridge costs $800 tuition plus about $105 for books and supplies, runs as 5 consecutive weekdays or about 2.5 weekends, and ends with the same two-part state exam every candidate takes: a $100 skills test administered on site and a $55 Credentia knowledge test. Edmonds College's own nurse assistant certificate is a full one-quarter, 8-credit program on the Lynnwood campus with no separate HCA bridge listed on its program page, so an Edmonds HCA who wants the short route travels about 39 miles south.

Weekday or weekend: the schedule choice for an Edmonds caregiver

The clinical block is 6 hours in a licensed nursing facility, scheduled inside the cohort. The final session is 4 hours of mock testing that reproduces the state skills exam format. Current dates are posted on the schedules page.

Eligibility, in the order the program checks it

1. Active HCA credential. Look yourself up on the DOH Provider Credential Search before you apply. "Active" is the required status; "expired" or "pending" does not qualify. HCA credentials renew each year on your birthday, so an Edmonds caregiver whose birthday falls during the cohort should renew first.
2. High school diploma or GED. A transcript or diploma copy is enough for a Washington school; overseas documents need an equivalency evaluation.
3. Background check clearance before the clinical block. The DOH uses a name-based statewide check. Someone who moved to Edmonds from another state within the last few years may be asked for a fingerprint check, which takes longer, so submit consent on the day you enroll.
4. English proficiency for instruction. All teaching, testing, and charting practice is in English.

Caregivers who finished the 75-hour DSHS training but never passed the HCA exam are not eligible. Long-term care workers who were exempt from HCA certification, such as some family providers, are also outside the bridge. Both groups belong in the CNA Traditional program, which runs 4 weeks at $1,100.

What the 40 hours add to what an Edmonds HCA already knows

Edmonds has a high concentration of in-home clients and assisted living residents, so most local HCAs already perform bathing, dressing, feeding assistance, and transfers daily. The bridge assumes that and spends its 36 instructional hours on the gap between home care scope and nursing facility scope:

• Facility documentation. Charting on a nursing home flow sheet, reporting to a charge nurse, and recognizing changes that must be escalated.
• Measured vital signs. Manual blood pressure, radial pulse, respirations, and temperature recorded within the tolerances the state skills examiner applies.
• Skills scored by checklist. Gait-belt transfers, positioning, passive range of motion, and ambulation, each with critical steps that fail the skill if missed.
• Catheter and perineal care to the facility standard, which many home care plans never include.
• The indirect-care steps every skill is scored on: hand hygiene, privacy, explaining the task, and call light placement.

The 13 lab hours exist because the skills test allows no verbal correction once a skill begins. How the lab is run, and why students practice on each other before mock testing, is described in inside the CNA skills lab.

Edmonds to Federal Way, five times over

Approximate times based on Sound Transit and Community Transit published information as of September 2026:

• Driving. About 39 miles via SR 104 or 196th Street SW to I-5, then south through Seattle to Federal Way. Roughly 45 minutes off-peak; the afternoon return through downtown Seattle can add 30 minutes or more. Weekend cohort students will see the shortest drives.
• Bus plus 1 Line. Per the Community Transit Edmonds guide, Routes 102 and 130 connect Edmonds Station to Lynnwood City Center Station, and the Swift Blue Line reaches Lynnwood City Center from the Highway 99 corridor. From there the 1 Line runs the full length of the region to Federal Way Downtown Station, about 80 to 90 minutes, with the school a short walk from the platform. Plan about two hours each way.
• Sounder N Line. Community Transit's guide notes the Sounder N Line stops at Edmonds Station. It runs weekday peak direction only, southbound in the morning to King Street Station, where a transfer to the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown continues south. It suits the weekday cohort's morning trip but not the afternoon return, which reverts to the 1 Line the whole way.

Five round trips is the total commitment for the bridge. The traditional course would require twenty.

Cost comparison for an Edmonds HCA

The total exam cost is $155 either way. Ways to spread the $800 across the cohort are described in payment plans for CNA training in Washington.

What changes for an Edmonds caregiver after certification

The HCA credential stays valid; you hold both. The NA-C adds hospital and skilled nursing facility employment, where the pay scale is higher than most home care rates. Swedish Edmonds, a 217-licensed-bed hospital at 21601 76th Avenue W per the Swedish locations page, is the closest hospital employer, with Level IV trauma emergency services and more than 1,400 clinical and non-clinical staff. Indeed's August 2026 posting data does not report Edmonds separately; Everett, the nearest reported city, shows about $24.89 per hour, and the statewide average is about $23.62, both approximate. Skilled nursing facilities along Highway 99 and in Lynnwood typically add $1.50 to $4 per hour in evening, night, and weekend differentials. Employers by setting are covered in CNA jobs in Edmonds, WA.

From enrollment to the registry, step by step

1. Confirm active HCA status on the Provider Credential Search and gather the diploma or GED.
2. Pick a weekday or weekend cohort and submit background-check consent at enrollment.
3. Complete 36 instructional hours including the 6-hour nursing facility clinical.
4. Sit the mock skills test, then the real $100 skills test on site. Programs must allow at least four attempts under WAC 246-841A-430.
5. After the skills pass is recorded, register with Credentia for the $55 knowledge test, online or oral.
6. Apply to the DOH under route E6 and pay the application fee per the current schedule.
7. Verify the NA-C appears on the Provider Credential Search, then notify your Edmonds employer so your role and pay update.

The E6 route and its documentation are explained in Washington CNA eligibility routes E1 through E9.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an HCA to CNA bridge in Edmonds itself? Edmonds College lists a one-quarter, 8-credit nurse assistant certificate on its Lynnwood campus and says students with healthcare experience may waive prerequisites, but its program page does not list a separate short HCA bridge. The nearest 40-hour bridge with weekday and weekend patterns is in Federal Way.

How long does the bridge take from Edmonds? One calendar week for the weekday cohort or about 2.5 weekends for the weekend cohort, plus five round trips of roughly 45 minutes to two hours each way depending on car or transit.

Can I keep my Edmonds home care clients while I bridge? Yes, on the weekend cohort. Weekday cohort students need one week off from weekday shifts.

Does the DOH's 24-hour bridge description mean I only need 24 hours? The DOH describes a 24-hour minimum. Huduma's bridge is 40 hours because the skills and knowledge tests are identical to those the 108-hour graduates take, and the extra lab and mock-testing hours are where pass rates are earned.

Where do I take the exam? The skills test is administered at the Federal Way school. The knowledge test is scheduled through Credentia and taken online or orally after the skills pass is recorded.

Do I lose my HCA credential when I become an NA-C? No. Both credentials remain on the DOH registry and both renew annually on your birthday.

Enrollment documents and cohort options are on the HCA to CNA bridge program page. If you are still deciding whether to bridge or take the full course, CNA classes near Edmonds, WA compares both against Edmonds College.