Posted by
Viventium
| February 04, 2021
Late last year, we proudly announced our partnership with the innovative home and health care educational technology company Nevvon, leading to the newest addition to our product suite. With Viventium Learning, health clients can now have single log-in access to in-service training through our Employee Self-Service application, enabling caregivers and employees to easily educate themselves at their pace and on their schedule, with over 150 courses compliant in all 50 states. We recently sat down with James Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Nevvon, to discuss some of the hardships and challenges home care, senior care, and skilled nursing have faced the past year, advice and methods for continuing education in the midst of the pandemic, a free webinar Nevvon is offering in response to unfounded COVID-19 vaccine skepticism, and our new partnership. Read on to see what he had to say.
This information is for educational purposes only, and not to provide specific legal advice. This may not reflect the most recent developments in the law and may not be applicable to a particular situation or jurisdiction.
What prompted you to offer a free COVID-19 vaccination training?
We have been monitoring reports, confirmed by discussions we have had with home care agency executives, that indicate a very significant portion of employees in the home care industry remain noncommittal to taking a COVID-19 vaccine. Notwithstanding that every Nevvon employee knows someone who has lost a loved one, directly or indirectly, to the pandemic, we understand how the local, regional, national, and even global economies have been impacted. By offering this free COVID-19 vaccination training, our hope is that more people will make informed decisions rather than be influenced by various sources of misinformation and myths.What challenges have clients shared with you about operating during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The challenges have certainly been extensive and almost universal. Early on, they included: securing enough PPE or finding enough money as suppliers passed along or initiated exorbitant price increases; seeing revenue drop due to lack of referrals, stay at home orders, or clients simply refusing care because they were worried about potential COVID infection from caregivers; and seeing caregivers prefer to stay home rather than work, as they took advantage of government programs that didn't just replace but actually increased their income. As the months progressed, we saw agencies adapt to "the new normal"; although few saw revenues return to pre-pandemic levels (and were, importantly, being burdened with increased operational costs), they adopted technology to help solve business problems. Caregivers began being screened and interviewed using video conferencing tools; offices have reduced paperwork using digital forms and signatures; in-service training that had been put on hold eventually returned but is now conducted primarily using remote training applications; and there is a greater use of telephone, email, and video employed to ensure better connectivity between the caregivers and their agency and between the clients and their families.What types of training are most popular with home care agencies today?
Industry surveys have seen a surge in the use of online training, both self-paced and instructor led. Most agencies are likely to make this a permanent shift but may perhaps tweak the approach. This is being assisted by various state departments, which are permitting a greater use of remote learning. The vast majority of caregivers have welcomed this approach, as it provides them a safer and more effective way to learn to be more competent and confident in caring for clients.How about senior care and skilled nursing?
We have seen an incredible demand recently in training for health care workers in senior care and skilled nursing. The demand has been derived from the need for high quality, standardized training, the desire for remote training, and the necessity for increased training satisfaction.What advice do you have to administrators trying to prioritize learning for their employees?
As a former agency owner with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto, I'm intimately aware of the challenges with respect to providing continuing education to caregivers. One concern we often hear, which thankfully is unfounded, is that caregivers won't be able to easily utilize the technology which delivers the remote learning. While a small portion will need some additional, focused attention at the beginning, the empirical evidence clearly shows caregivers appreciate the investment that agencies make. Nevvon has years of experience with onboarding caregivers from very diverse backgrounds, cultures, languages, educations, and skill sets as well as with methods to continue educating them so that they are engaged and excited. Industry surveys show that one of the concerns that caregivers consistently highlight is their desire for more training. And, that the retention rate of caregivers is positively impacted by providing high quality training, especially when they can take it whenever they want, wherever they are. It’s clear that clients thrive when their caregivers are well trained, and various governmental departments are embracing more options for training. Nevvon is well positioned and experienced in tailoring the right programs for any sized agency anywhere in the US.Tell us more about your partnership with Viventium.
Both of our organizations feel a deep sense of responsibility to serve our clients with the highest level of excellence. The enthusiasm and energy Nevvon has seen from the entire team at Viventium has only grown over the months. It is readily apparent that this partnership will be instrumental in ensuring many, many thousands of clients of the agencies and facilities who have partnered with Viventium and Nevvon will be better taken care of, because the reality is better training results in better care. To learn more about Viventium Learning powered by Nevvon, you can visit www.viventium.com/learning-management-systems or request a demo today.This information is for educational purposes only, and not to provide specific legal advice. This may not reflect the most recent developments in the law and may not be applicable to a particular situation or jurisdiction.