Institute finds gold in continuing education
Sponsoring courses adds to hospital’s bottom line
Continuing education is no longer only a budgetary expenditure at the rehabilitation institute at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.Instead, local, regional, and national courses sponsored by the rehabilitation institute have become a revenue producer for the hospital, adding nearly $100,000 to the rehab education budget over the past six years.
The rehab institute began sponsoring its own continuing education courses to make sure the therapists kept clinically up to date, says Andy Whitener, director of the institute.
"It’s a prudent thing from a standpoint of trying to stretch continuing education dollars. It’s cheaper to bring in your own speaker than to send multiple employees to conferences, and when other people in your area want to come, it can pay for itself," Whitener says.
The courses have an added bonus. Having an extensive array of on-site educational courses available helps in recruitment and retention of staff, he adds.
"We also believe that these courses assist us in obtaining referrals, because nearby health care professionals are aware of our specialized training. Our staff have outstanding opportunities to grow professionally through the courses. This is hard to beat, especially in times of budget reductions," Whitener says.
Reduced-rate education
In 1996, 60 therapists at the rehabilitation institute were able to attend continuing education courses sponsored by the institute at a reduced rate.The topics included balance, geriatric rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury, thoracic spine injury, wound care, cervical spine, visual perception dysfunction, and resources.
Most of the courses were offered to other therapists in Georgia or surrounding states. In the past, the rehabilitation Institute has organized and sponsored two two-day national conferences at an Atlanta hotel.
Therapists from throughout the institute’s continuum and from every discipline have formed a committee that organizes and executes rehabilitation courses.
Any staff member at the institute may come up with a topic and be involved in coordinating the course with the guidance of the committee. The committee discusses the topics, brainstorms possible speakers, and approves the final selection of the course, says Sally Saadeh, PT, director of the institute’s outpatient neurological program and chairwoman of the committee.
For each course, the therapists put together a simple income/expense projection report to ensure that the course will be profitable.
Among the expenses they must consider is the costs of publicizing the course, producing the brochure, paying the speaker, accommodations for the speaker, renting a facility if it is an off-site course, and refreshments.
Revenue projections necessary
The person who puts on the course must estimate the number of people who will attend, and based on revenue projections, determine whether staff therapists will attend for free or for a reduced rate. They calculate a break-even point, based on projected attendance and advertise in the brochures that the course will be canceled unless a minimum number of attendees sign up."It’s really an educational endeavor for our staff to get involved and to learn how to organize a meeting and do a budget. We try to keep ourselves available as consultants," Whitener says.
Marketing depends on the type of course and to whom it is being offered. If a course is being offered only to in-house therapists and to the hospital’s home health agency, it’s marketed by word-of-mouth.
The hospital’s public relations department produces brochures for the course, based on drafts written by the therapists.
"We’ve learned what to put in the brochures and what not to put in," Whitener says. For instance, the material should always include a contact person’s name and telephone number to avoid calls to the hospital operator, Whitener says.
Profits must be spent in same fiscal year
The institute is allowed to spend any profits it makes, as long as the expenditures take place during the fiscal year in which they are made. Because the hospital is not-for-profit, the money is not allowed to carry over into the next budget year.The institute tries to hold most of its courses in the early part of the fiscal year. That way, if there is a profit on the books, they can use the money to send staff to out-of-state conferences.
"The positive part of this program is that because of our successful experience, the hospital administration has given us flexibility in how we handle these courses financially. But we are held accountable and are expected to break even or make a profit," Whitener says.
If you are considering hosting continuing education courses at your institution, here are some tips from Whitener:
• Work with your administration or hospital system to make sure they understand what you are trying to do. Be clear on how expenses will be accounted for and revenues will be used.
• Consider starting out with a joint venture with a professional continuing education organization. The rehabilitation institute recently acted as host and co-sponsor for a course put on by an Atlanta educational firm. In return, staff got to attend the course for free.
"We didn’t make any money out of it but they took most of the risk. We got the advantage of their name, our expertise helped with the local logistics, and our staff got to attend for free," Whitener says.
• Contact your state therapy associations for their mailing lists instead of maintaining your own.
The rehabilitation institute has found it is more cost-effective to buy mailing lists for each course because of the time it takes to keep lists updated. If a course is to be marketed on a regional basis, it purchases the labels from therapy associations in nearby states. If it is a local course, it purchases only local labels.
• Start planning your course at least six months in advance.
"It always takes longer than you think," Whitener warns.
• Write an account of what you do, and learn from your mistakes.
The rehab institute started with one course put on by Whitener in 1990. He wrote down the steps he took. The process has been refined by the committee through the years.
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