Acute Care Virtual Training Program
IHA received a 2021 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to provide free online training and Google Chromebooks to entry level hospital workers in upstate New York. The training is hosted through the country’s leader in online education, HealthStream.
A focus group of hospital participants developed and curated a curriculum that target professional and personal development for front line essential workers. These efforts resulted in a catalogue of 60 courses across 10 specialty areas including: business skills, cultural awareness and implicit bias, communication essentials, self-growth and life skills, emergency management, coaching and mentorship, patient care basics, team work, professional development and healthcare 101. The program now has over 6,000 IHA member employees from 12 health systems and 13 upstate counties taking these courses on a virtual basis. Both clinical and non-clinical entry level workers are participating in the program.
The most popular courses being taken are “Hand Hygiene, General Safety, and Concepts of Infection Control.
IHA has also distributed chrome books to participating health systems to enable quick and easy access to the technology required to fully engage an on-line learning system.
In late October, IHA also obtained an additional bundle of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion courses that are in high demand for hospitals around the country. This bundle features 40 courses designed by healthcare and workplace experts to “cultivate an inclusive culture by empowering a diverse workforce”. They were developed to train healthcare workers on topics such as “Providing a Harassment-Free Work Environment”, “Anti-Racism”, “Inclusive Leadership” and much more.
IHA is proud to be working with the education departments of our members to offer these sought-after trainings, and assist with their employee development and retention.
IHA has also applied for an extension of this grant into 2022 which will allow current participants to continue this training for another year and new participants will be welcomed to the program.