SkillUp Washigto Healthcare Learig Cosortium executive summary Recogizig ad Rewardig the Role of Etry-level Healthcare Workers May 2017
Writte by: Busiess Govermet Commuity Coectios Photos by: Rya Castoldi Graphic desig by: Noise w/o Soud
Healthcare Learig Cosortium Strategies to Promote the Skills of Etry-level Healthcare Workers Executive Summary SkillUp Washigto, a workforce fudig collaborative at the Seattle Foudatio, is grateful to the JPMorga Chase Foudatio for fudig the Healthcare Learig Cosortium (HCLC), a regioal capacity buildig iitiative to support the job retetio ad career advacemet efforts of etry-level healthcare workers with low basic skills. Parters i this work tested differet models of skill buildig ad career advacemet for etry-level healthcare workers ad collected project data to idetify effective practices ad make a case for scalable models. They also agreed to meet regularly to share lessos leared ad egage i cross system strategies to alig ad coordiate resources. HCLC Parters icluded: Washigto Associatio of Commuity & Migrat Health Ceters (WACMHC); SEIU 1199NW Multi-Employer Traiig Fud (Traiig Fud); Seattle Cetral College (SCC); Literacy Source; SEIU 775 Beefits Group; Cross Cultural Health Care Program; ad Washigto State Board of Commuity ad Techical Colleges (SBCTC). Orgaizatios across the atio are lookig for effective ways to support the job retetio ad career advacemet of etry-level healthcare workers. I order to develop their ow uderstadig of how differet strategies ca support the job retetio ad 3
Healthcare Learig Cosortium career advacemet eeds of healthcare workers with low basic skills, HCLC parters piloted the followig four strategies ad shared the results with each other: (1) registered appreticeship; (2) o-the-job learig ad coachig; (3) use of digital ad olie learig platforms, icludig hybrid delivery models; ad (4) customizatio of Eglish as a Secod Laguage (ESL) curriculum for icumbet healthcare workers. Healthcare Pilot Project Descriptios (1) Work-based Learig Strategy to Prepare Etry Level Healthcare Workers to be Medical Assistats WACMHC utilized grat fuds to expad their Medical Assistat Registered Appreticeship (MARA) program. Participats i the MARA program work for 12 moths as paid, full-time employees i a healthcare settig with oe-o-oe guidace ad coachig from a Medical Assistat. The vast majority of MARA participats are icumbet workers at commuity health cliics workig at lower cliical levels such as MA-Registered (MA-R) or Certified Nursig Assistat (CNA). After completig the program, studets take the Certified Cliical Medical Assistat (CCMA) test to ear both state ad atioal certificatios. (2) Work-based Learig Strategies to Promote the Digital ad Basic Skills of Etry-level Hospital Workers The Traiig Fud, Literacy Source, South Seattle College ad the SBCTC s Job Skills Program worked with employer parters such as Northwest Hospital to offer olie learig opportuities for hospital Evirometal Services (EVS) ad Food Service workers to build their Eglish ad digital literacy skills ad to lear the ew electroic record keepig software (EPIC) that Northwest Hospital was implemetig across its system. Northwest Hospital employees were paid for their time to take a comprehesive tuitio-free 22-hour computer literacy course that provided them with the skills to master the EPIC techology ad system. 4
Healthcare Learig Cosortium Workplace-based olie learig opportuities desiged ad implemeted by the Traiig Fud, Literacy Source ad SCC were offered to hospital EVS ad Food Service workers from Uiversity of Washigto Northwest Hospital, Swedish Medical Ceter, Highlie Medical Ceter, Uiversity of Washigto Valley Medical Ceter ad Kaiser Permaete WA (formerly Group Health); modules were desiged by SCC to build workers digital literacy ad Eglish Laguage Skills, ad to help prepare workers for usig Cavas, the olie learig maagemet system used by all of the commuity ad techical colleges i Washigto State. SCC based the curriculum o promisig strategies from the SBCTC s Project I-DEA, with the itetio that workers would be more likely to eroll i advaced traiig oce they felt comfortable usig this system. Literacy Source provided face-to-face istructio osite at the hospitals two days a week. (3) Digital Learig Platform Strategy to Support the ESL Skills of HCAs who are Eglish Laguage Learers The SEIU 775 Beefits Group set out to test the effectiveess of the Xeos digital learig platform with HCAs, a olie gamebased learig platform that icludes various competecy-based Eglish learig modules. The assumptio was this project would provide useful iformatio about the pros ad cos of usig a digital learig platform to build the basic ad ESL skills of HCAs. However, this strategy was suspeded due to low recruitmet umbers ad a icreasig awareess that the model, which required that Home Care Aides atted class at a o-work settig, was ot practical. Major results of the pilots iclude: 97% of the 113 MARA participats completed the program or are o schedule to complete. The overall passage/certificatio rate for the CCMA exam is 88%; the program curretly has a 81% first-time pass rate for the exam, compared to 73% atiowide. Early wage progressio results show steady icreases i wages for icumbet workers (icludig MA-R ad CNA) who erolled i the MARA program. 5
Healthcare Learig Cosortium Oe hudred eleve (111) EVS workers erolled i digital literacy ad/or basic skills traiig, icludig the pre-epic traiig at Uiversity of Washigto Northwest Hospital ad olie ESL/Cavas ad No-Cavas traiig at five employer parters. 100% of the Northwest Hospital icumbet housekeepers participatig i the 22 hour pre-epic traiig icreased their digital skills, resultig i icreased housekeeper resposiveess, decreased room turover times ad decreased patiet admissio times from the emergecy room. Northwest Hospital s implemetatio of EPIC was regarded as oe of the smoothest by EPIC Implemetatio Leaders who were itroducig the techology at differet hospitals. Fifty-four icumbet workers with CASAS readig levels ragig from 1-6 erolled i the ew SCC Cavas module (13 studets) ad other osite ESL classes (41 studets). Through the support of this project, the Traiig Fud bega issuig Chromebooks to studets who complete the Cavas class or log 40 class hours ad demostrate idepedet computer skills. 83% of studets who took mid-year testig icreased their readig or writig skills. Istructioal strategies were put i place to promote the career advacemet of EVS ad Food Service workers, some of whom were iterested i patiet care, office or lead positios. Across the three pilot strategies, a total of 226 idividuals received traiig. The majority were wome (82%) ad more tha three quarters (83%) were 30 years or older. Eight-eight percet (88%) were people of color, with just uder half (47%) idetifyig as of Spaish/Latio/Hispaic origi. 6
Healthcare Learig Cosortium Additioally, the HCLC learig commuity meetigs resulted i a umber of cross-system learig, sharig ad partership opportuities: WACMHC is workig with the Traiig Fud as a coduit for helpig workers trasitio ito acute care/hospital settigs; WACMHC ad the SEIU 775 Beefits Group are desigig career pathway optios for HCAs iterested i workig as Medical ad/or Detal Assistats at commuity cliics across Washigto State; Literacy Source shared their experiece i providig tutorig ad other support to workers requirig basic skills ad ESL istructioal assistace resources that are, ad could be a beefit to, may other commuity-based orgaizatios. The CCHCP shared iformatio about cultural competece ad resources to support equity ad iclusio i health services with all parters; ad All HCLC parters are developig cross-referral ad screeig procedures, thus expadig the types of healthcare pathways that cliets ca access i a streamlied, coordiated fashio. Key lessos leared from The HCLC iitiative iclude: the WACMHC model is strog ad scalable both because of the high demad for Medical Assistats at commuity ad hospital-based cliics ad the fact that every state has federally qualified health ceters (like the oe that WACMHC belogs to) as well as feeder orgaizatios (such as those that hire home health care workers); The WACMHC model is a promisig career pathway for etry-level occupatios withi commuity cliics such as Frot Desk, Dietary Services ad MA-Phlebotomist ito advaced traiig ad employmet icludig Physicia s Assistat, Registered Nurse ad Behavioral Health Services; 7
Healthcare Learig Cosortium Strategies to allay employer cocers about liability ad worker preparedess are importat to address whe referrig ew participats ito appreticeship programs; Labor-maagemet parterships are istrumetal to implemetig multiple parter worksite learig opportuities; Adaptable course schedules, 1:1 ad small group istructio, ad employer egagemet were essetial approaches to egage etry-level workers who eed customized istructio to improve their Eglish ad techology skills; Workers who participated i HCLC-supported traiigs icreased their cofidece, work skills ad self-idetity as studets, lifelog learers ad/or persos who had ext step career aspiratios; Effective recruitmet strategies icluded beig o site before, durig ad after the day at parter hospitals to discuss the project with workers ad employers; Time ad practice cotributed to studet readig, writig, computer ad literacy skill gais; May etry-level healthcare workers require log term educatioal itervetios; Desigig curriculum based o worker ad employer feedback was effective at buildig worker problem solvig ad self-advocacy skills; ad Esurig that etry-level workers have opportuities to build their skills is essetial to creatig a diverse healthcare workforce. 8
Healthcare Learig Cosortium Next steps for HCLC parters iclude: WACMHC is workig with SkillUp to establish a presece as a atioal etity resposible for traiig ad sharig materials with other etities atiowide who wat to implemet MA or Detal Assistat appreticeships; WACMHC is workig with state K-12 ad tribal system parters to expad referral ad recruitmet pipelies ito their programs; WACMHC established a partership with the Seattle Colleges to build college credits ito the MARA program s existig supplemetal coursework; The SEIU Beefits Group is workig with WACMHC, the Traiig Fud ad SkillUp to implemet a pathway for Home Care Aides to Medical Assistats at commuity ad hospital-based cliics across Washigto State; The Traiig Fud is strivig to build a ext-step career bridge compoet to the olie curriculum available for workers. SCC is desigig a itermediate ESL course with cocepts relevat to etry-level acute care jobs. I additio, the Traiig Fud, Literacy Source ad SCC will cotiue to work together to offer olie learig opportuities supported with face-to-face istructio for hospital EVS ad Food Services workers to build digital literacy ad Eglish Laguage skills; All HCLC parters pla to work together to build o ramps that prepare ad coect icumbet workers to high school completio, I-BEST healthcare ad other allied healthcare pathways; SkillUp will cotiue to foster public-private collaboratios to support workforce developmet programs desiged to meet the uique eeds of etry-level healthcare workers ad the healthcare idustry, ad to dissemiate best practices. 9
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