ANHA is leading a state-wide effort to train nursing home staff with the CARES online training programs. Are you curious about what CARES is? View the following 5-minute preview videos:
- CARES Basics: https://youtu.be/K3wOXswJ1h0
- CARES Behavior: https://youtu.be/q-F-ooVIlg4
As a reminder, AHCA in conjunction with the State of Alabama, is offering free access for your entire staff to both CARES Basics and CARES Behavior, including technical assistance to implement the program (a $2,500 value). No match is required.
Background
Since 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has seen a 38.9% reduction in the number of residents in long-stay nursing homes who needed an anti-psychotic medication. Despite this success, Alabama facilities have the highest utilization rate in the nation.
CARES® Online Training and Certification Program
The CARES® Online Dementia Care Training Program is nationally recognized by CMS, is approved recognized curriculum by the Alzheimer’s Association, and is recommended by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to help reduce the off-label use of antipsychotics. We believe that use of CARES within your organization will result in a number of quantifiable changes to the care you provide residents living with dementia. As part of this program, you will have unlimited access to both programs for a period of one year.
Anticipated Benefits
- Increased CMS star ratings for your facility
- Increased staff retention and overall staff morale.
- Higher staff morale
- Decreased antipsychotic usage within your facility
- Decreased isolation of staff members (e.g., feeling alone) since this will be a facility-wide training
- Decreased citations during annual surveys
- Free for your entire staff as well as volunteers.
- One-of-a-kind, video-based online training that is user-friendly, interactive, and engaging.
- Helps reduce your F-tags in the areas of antipsychotic medication usage, staff training, challenging behaviors, wandering, pain, safety, and more.
- Boosts community perception and marketing efforts by communicating to community members what your facility is doing to improve care.
- Access to free monthly webinars to help you and staff members along the way.
Antipsychotic Benefit
Specifically, around the use of antipsychotics, the state of Alabama is ranked 51st (out of 50 states plus the District of Columbia) in anti-psychotic drug use in long stay nursing homes. Our goal here at the Alabama Nursing Home Association is to utilize this CMP-funded training to move our state up to at least 35th in the nation.
How to Sign Up for Free CARES® Training
To sign up, or if you have questions or need more information about the program, please email Katrina Magdon at kmagdon@anha.org.
