Community training center brings needed exposure
March 1, 1998 4 minutes read
Community training center brings needed exposure
Get your agency’s name out in the community
Private duty agencies don’t always have to advertise in the Yellow Pages to get local exposure. One alternative is to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic life support (BLS) training programs to boost visibility and show community involvement.
Alice Carbin, BSN, RNC, clinical supervisor for ConcordiaCare, a division of Concordia Lutheran Ministries based in Cabot, PA, saw an opportunity for her company to step in and establish a community training center in her local area when two health care organizations disbanded their training facilities.
"This is not a typical program for a private duty agency to provide," say Carbin, who has been a volunteer for the American Heart Association (AHA) for more than 30 years. "But, we felt it was vital to the community that CPR and basic life support training be provided. And it is helping to establish us as a leader and a knowledgeable health care organization."
Carbin says the center breaks even, so ConcordiaCare’s primary benefit from offering the training and education courses is exposure in the community.
"We’ve received some referrals, but the most important aspect is that more health care organizations know about ConcordiaCare’s private duty services," she says. The local personal care homes did not know ConcordiaCare existed until the training center was established. In fact, the agency has spent little in the way of advertising and marketing of the training center. Carbin notes that most of the organizations that request courses and individuals who attend hear about the Center by word of mouth.
Agencies establishing a community training center can use it as a marketing tool, says Carbin. "It gets us out into the community, showing that the agency is community-oriented and cares about people."
In the beginning
ConcordiaCare started its program by first approaching the AHA, letting the organization know it was interested in continuing CPR and BLS programs in the community. The AHA surveyed the agency and approved it to become a training center. ConcordiaCare then received the defunct training centers’ rosters of instructors and the files of people taught. The agency did a mass mailing inviting instructors to join the new center and informing them that records were stored at ConcordiaCare’s facility.
To start a community training center, Carbin says the first step is to contact the local chapter of the AHA. The agency must have an AHA- certified instructor trainer or an AHA-affiliate faculty member on staff to oversee the center. (Carbin is both, so the training center was a natural for ConcordiaCare.) The AHA provides written materials which are purchased by the instructors participation cards, and guidelines.
Start-up costs include the purchase of manikins for training, which can range from an infant manikin costing $88 to an adult manikin costing $500 to $2,500, depending on the sophistication of the model. "The equipment may be expensive, and this could be an obstacle to an organization wanting to create a center," says Carbin. However, this cost may be recouped through the rental of manikins for course instruction. ConcordiaCare charges $25 per manikin for a one-day rental. Carbin suggests that instructors use one manikin for every six students. Other start-up expenses the agency needs are computer software to organize the center unless it is able to develop a program from existing software and a minimum of two hours of administrative time per week for data entry, participation care completion, and mailing.
Trainer requirements
Currently, ConcordiaCare accepts new trainers through an application process but stipulates that an independent instructor register with it exclusively. Instructors must have current BLS provider and instructor cards, verification of completion of a BLS instructors course, and a monitoring form signed by an AHA-affiliate faculty member. The instructors on file are then scheduled to teach classes through the center when a request comes in.
To keep accurate information and schedules for instructors, Carbin created a database and spreadsheet with all the instructors’ names, and also uses them to track sessions. Each instructor must pay a $25 registration fee to be in the center’s database. Trainers can schedule classes in remote locations or can rent ConcordiaCare’s training room for $25 per class.
Instructors can advertise classes and charge a rate that they determine and are not obligated to pay the center. They are encouraged, however, to charge their students an affordable rate, usually no more than $30. Trainers can purchase any needed AHA written materials or equipment to teach the course, such as manuals and face shields, through the center.
Fees for services
ConcordiaCare offers a regular schedule of classes at its facility, taught by employees, where each person trained is charged a fee ranging from $20 to $30. Carbin says that the center breaks even and, therefore, remains a viable program.
ConcordiaCare charges all instructors a processing fee of $1.50 per student to complete the participation card and cover postage. The AHA does not receive money nor require an agency to pay them.
An additional responsibility for the center is maintaining the county’s registrations and records for the AHA. Rosters for all people who take CPR classes are kept on file. Agencies considering a center must make sure they have a plan to store files and records, as well as have the computer capabilities to handle scheduling, billing, and database updates.
The staff at ConcordiaCare are proud of the center, Carbin says. "Employees know that they can attend classes or a lecture that the center is providing. I think this shows our staff that we are committed to serving the community."
She says that the entire program has fostered greater commitment to providing CPR training in the community. "We have seen tremendous commitment from our instructors, not only in teaching CPR but in volunteering their own time to further educate the community. Personal satisfaction can be a great reward," Carbin says. ConcordiaCare is currently organizing a "Save-a-Life Saturday" in which all 38 of the instructors registered with the center have expressed interest in volunteering their time.
Carbin encourages other agencies to seek more information on becoming a community training center in their region of the country. "The process may differ in other areas, but the AHA will help you though it step by step," she says.
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