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

For a Shoreline Home Care Aide, the HCA to CNA bridge is 40 clock hours, $800 tuition, and five train rides. Huduma CNA Programs in Federal Way runs the bridge as 5 consecutive weekdays or about 2.5 weekends for anyone holding an active Washington HCA credential and a high school diploma or GED, and graduates take the same Nursing Assistant-Certified (NA-C) exam as traditional students: the $100 skills test on site, then the $55 Credentia knowledge test. Because Shoreline South/148th and Shoreline North/185th are both 1 Line stations and Federal Way Downtown is the line's southern terminus, the commute is a single train of roughly 70 to 80 minutes with no transfer. The traditional course would mean twenty such trips; the bridge means about five.

Bridge versus traditional for a Shoreline HCA

Shoreline's caregiver workforce is concentrated in senior living along Aurora Avenue N, the CRISTA campus, adult family homes, and home care agencies serving north King County, all of which hire on the HCA credential. The bridge is how those caregivers reach the nursing facility and hospital roles that require the NA-C. A general comparison of the two paths is in CNA Traditional vs HCA-CNA Bridge.

Eligibility, checked before you enroll

• Active HCA credential. Confirm it on the DOH Provider Credential Search. HCA credentials renew annually on your birthday; a lapsed one must be renewed first, and one that has expired beyond reactivation does not qualify.
• High school diploma or GED. A foreign diploma requires an equivalency evaluation.
• Background check cleared before the clinical block. The DOH runs a name-based statewide check; the program requires clearance before the 6 clinical hours in a licensed nursing facility.
• Not yet eligible: a caregiver who took the 75-hour DSHS-approved HCA class but never passed the HCA exam. That person needs the CNA Traditional program.

Statewide rules for the alternative route are in understanding the HCA to CNA bridge route, and every eligibility route is listed in Washington CNA eligibility routes E1 to E9.

Choosing the weekday or weekend pattern from Shoreline

Weekday bridge. Monday through Friday of one week. A caregiver at a Shoreline assisted living community takes one week of leave; a home care worker with flexible clients may not need any. Board the 1 Line early enough to arrive before class; the return runs against Seattle's afternoon demand but stays on schedule because it is rail.

Weekend bridge. Saturdays and Sundays across about 2.5 weekends. No weekday leave, which suits an HCA working Monday to Friday. The 1 Line runs on weekends at reduced frequency, so check departure times from the Shoreline stations for the first session. Driving is also easier on weekends: about 32 miles on I-5 through Seattle, roughly 40 minutes without weekday congestion.

Hours are identical in both patterns; current start dates are listed on the schedules page.

What 40 hours add to HCA training

The DSHS 75-hour curriculum already covers personal care, infection control, client rights, communication, and safety. The bridge adds the nursing facility content and test standards:

1. Nursing home documentation and routines, which differ from home care notes.
2. Vital signs measured and recorded within the tolerances examiners score.
3. Step-scored mobility skills: transfers with a gait belt, walking a resident, positioning, and range of motion.
4. Catheter and elimination care, rarely performed in residential HCA roles.
5. Indirect-care steps on every skill: explanation, hand hygiene, privacy, call light, safety checks.
6. Four hours of mock testing run under exam conditions.

The DOH describes a 24-hour bridge minimum; the added 16 hours in this version are lab and mock testing, because bridge graduates sit the same exam as everyone else. Programs must allow at least four attempts at the skills test, but the extra practice is aimed at needing one.

The train from Shoreline, in practice

Sound Transit's station pages list Shoreline South/148th at 14711 5th Avenue NE with 500 parking spaces and Metro routes 65, 72, 333, 345, 346, and 365, and Shoreline North/185th at 710 NE 185th Street with 494 spaces, Swift Blue Line service, and Metro routes 348 and 365. From either, ride the 1 Line south the full length to Federal Way Downtown Station; the school is a short walk. Trains run about every 10 minutes through most of the day, and the ride is roughly 70 to 80 minutes. Parking permit and daily-limit rules are on Sound Transit's parking pages; a weekday student parking all day should check them, and an HCA on the Aurora corridor can reach Shoreline North/185th by Swift Blue instead of parking at all. Ride details for all three approaches to the school are in getting to CNA class in Federal Way by bus, light rail, or car.

Cost, then what the NA-C changes

Tuition $800, books about $105, skills test $100, knowledge test $55, and a DOH application fee per the current schedule. After certification you hold both the HCA and NA-C credentials, each renewing on your birthday. The NA-C opens Fircrest Residential Habilitation Center's 100-bed state nursing facility in Shoreline, Shoreline Health and Rehabilitation, UW Medical Center Northwest, Swedish Edmonds, and every Seattle hospital on the 1 Line. Indeed's posting data from September 2, 2026, lists about $23.93 per hour for nursing assistants in Shoreline, approximate, well above most HCA caregiver rates. The employer map is in CNA jobs in Shoreline, WA.

Steps from enrollment to registry:

1. Verify the HCA credential and gather the diploma or GED.
2. Enroll in a weekday or weekend cohort and submit background-check consent early.
3. Complete the 40 hours, including the 6-hour nursing facility clinical and 4 mock-testing hours.
4. Take the skills test on site ($100); retest if needed.
5. Once the skills pass is recorded, book the $55 Credentia knowledge test, online or oral.
6. Submit the DOH application on route E6 with the fee per the current schedule.
7. Watch the Provider Credential Search for the NA-C, then inform your employer.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an HCA to CNA bridge in Shoreline? Shoreline Community College offers the full nursing assistant certificate on the quarter calendar, not a short bridge. The nearest weekday and weekend bridge cohorts are the 40-hour course in Federal Way, one 1 Line ride away.

How long is the train from Shoreline to the bridge? Roughly 70 to 80 minutes from Shoreline South/148th or Shoreline North/185th to Federal Way Downtown, with no transfer.

Can I keep my Shoreline caregiver job during the bridge? Yes. Weekend students give up no weekday shifts, and weekday students need one week off.

Do bridge graduates take a different exam? No. The skills test and the Credentia knowledge test are identical for every candidate, $155 in total; only the DOH eligibility route changes, E6 instead of E1.

My HCA credential expired. Can I still enroll? Not until it is active again. Renew through the DOH portal first; it must be active at enrollment and through the course.

Does the bridge include time in a nursing facility? Yes, 6 clinical hours in a licensed nursing facility, the setting HCA training does not cover.

What to bring and how to enroll is on the HCA to CNA bridge program page.