Caregiver shortages are an ever-increasing issue in the home care industry. With a national turnover rate that was averaging around 64% before the pandemic that’s even higher now, it’s more important than ever to take a data-driven approach to staffing that will help minimize turnover costs, focus on caregiver resources, and save time and money whenever and wherever possible for your agency.

With that said, are you providing the resources and training that your caregivers need?

The painful reality is probably not. The nature of home care and the vulnerable population it serves and cares for places both caregivers and clients at an increased risk to their physical and psychological safety. With the effects of the pandemic, social distancing rules, and other regulations, it is harder today to provide resources, tools, and training that will help your caregivers better care for patients while also taking care of themselves.

Based on the Home Care Pulse 2020 Home Care Benchmarking Study, caregivers largely reported that they were asked to perform assignments that required training above and beyond what they were trained for by their employer.

It’s clear your caregivers need and actually want more training – a desire also shared by clients, ranked as their second-highest complaint in 2018. Don’t get us wrong, initial training is important, but it’s not really cutting it; providing ongoing training for every level of caregiver is critical. Along with non-medical caregivers, CNAs, HHAs, and PCAs all need ongoing training that empowers them to be both competent and confident in their chosen career.

And now with the pandemic, it has become so much harder and costlier to train your caregivers. Taking the time to plan your training curriculum, paying educators, removing caregivers from the field for the day, sanitizing facilities, maintaining and distributing PPE supplies, staggering time, you name it – all this can be very costly for your agency. It doesn’t have to be that way.

With robust and flexible online training that is designed around your state’s, caregiver’s, and agency’s needs, your caregivers will get all the certifications and training required from anywhere they choose.

There will be no need to close your facility for training or take caregivers out of the field. No clients frustrated that their favorite caregiver didn’t show up. And no pre-training preparation, extra COVID-19 sanitation, or investment in additional PPE when everything is handled online.

Before setting up your caregiver training curriculum, you should do the following:

1. Know your state and federal requirements.
2. Ask yourself: What does your current client population look like? Do they have similar conditions?
3. Consider where your caregivers need more development.

Once you’ve thought about the above, you should be ready to start planning and executing your online training program – but you might need a little help. With Viventium, we’ve got you covered. Check out our Learning Management Software (LMS) powered by Nevvon, designed to provide caregivers with educational requirements and training according to their specific state regulations. Topics covered include safety, medical care, communication, and harassment, which can all be done through a simple, intuitive, and user-friendly app that lets your caregivers educate themselves at their pace and on their schedule.

With Viventium Learning Management powered by Nevvon, your caregivers will be prepared to tackle any hurdles they find in their way, all while providing exceptional care for your patients.