The surge of home health care patients in 2020 brought great opportunities for agencies, with more to come in 2021. But those opportunities also mean an increased need for training staff — and one renowned national accreditor is delivering.

Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) already offers a range of virtual training options in the healthcare industry through its educational division, ACHCU. Now, through the industry-leading learning management system HealthTrainU™, ACHCU is offering home health courses, giving caregivers access to continuing education training in one place.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for home health providers,” said Greg Stowell, Associate Director of Education and Training at ACHCU. “We are dedicated to continuing to provide user-friendly, industry-relevant education materials, in addition to the excellent customer service the industry has come to expect from ACHC.”

Why ACHC launched its home health courses

The COVID-19 pandemic vastly changed the home health landscape. Volatility abounds — a staffing shortage merged with increased home health needs merged with increased patient skittishness about in-home care means training must be frequent — and precise.

With its new Distinction in Telehealth, ACHC is already helping operators make waves in home health care, and the new home health courses from HealthTrainU take that much farther. The learning management system provides training to healthcare professionals who are sponsored by their employers, with a purpose of enhancing their industry skills and training.

In the fall of 2020, HealthTrainU expanded its offerings to include home health courses, with more coming soon. The courses, approved by the Virginia Nurses Association, address a complete range of skills necessary for today’s home health worker and fall roughly into four categories.

First, there are courses that address patient assessments and needs. Second, there are courses that focus on medical services in the home, such as those for dementia, Alzheimer’s, or COPD patients.

Third, there are courses that help staff with potential problems in the home that are not care related, from fire prevention to workplace violence as well as equipment needs. Last, there are courses that address professionalism, such as telephone courtesy, cultural diversity, and ethics.

Add it all up and agencies have a robust slate of courses they can use to help their staff gain continuing education credits as well as new skills and knowledge.

How home health providers benefit from HealthTrainU

Simply put, HealthTrainU is a one-stop shop for online training — a superior educational resource for healthcare providers. Industry professionals developed the coursework, so the training is exactly in-line with staff needs.

HealthTrainU’s user-centric approach is also seen in its customizable timing. Agencies can help caregivers craft a training program to their own schedules through preloaded or customizable Mastery Programs. Once the agency’s “SuperManager” — HealthTrainU’s term for the person who will direct training — sets up the administrator, the administrator sets up the student, and the student guides herself or himself through the courses.

Perhaps the key part of home health training comes from its compliance benefits. Different regulatory organizations require continuing education credits for home health staff, as do individual government agencies, including the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

HealthTrainU takes all of these needs and requirements into account, giving home health providers a simple, effective way to manage employees’ educational requirements for compliance, accreditation, and licensure.

To learn more about the new home health courses available from HealthTrainU and start a free trial, visit HealthTrainU.com.