Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center

Impact:

While using a suite of HealthStream solutions that included the HealthStream Learning Center (HLC), HealthStream Performance Center (HPC) and HeartCode, Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center (MSLCC) was able to:

• Increase compliance rates for competency training
• Develop a quicker, streamlined, and more consistent on-boarding process for new staff members
• Create an efficient, automatic process for performance reviews, which significantly improved compliance and improved the timeline for the performance review process
• Improve training tracking and reporting so that education staff could use their time on more productive activities
• Automate the performance review process and and hold all employees accountable to completing their assigned reviews

The Challenge:

MSLCC is a 258-bed skilled nursing center that also provides 65 assisted living apartments in Bismarck, North Dakota. MSLCC has provided care to the region for more than 50 years and has a staff of 560 that includes 239 CNAs. The care center provides care 24 hours a day across 6 different nursing units.

MSLCC has a mandate to evaluate CNA competencies annually. With a large number of employees working multiple shifts on multiple units, it was a challenge to find a single solution that could meet their needs. Patricia Tangen, Director of Human Resources, Ben Crawford, IT Director, and Debbie Goetz, Director of Staff Development, were key decision-makers in the selection of the HealthStream Learning Center and Performance Center. Ms. Goetz shared that leaders wanted a Learning Management System (LMS) that was credible, consistent, easy-to-track, and efficient. Their previous system made it tedious to track attendance and makeup sessions and, more importantly, there was not a reliable way to insure that high quality education was happening.

Solution:

To get the system up and running, Ms. Tangen and Ms. Goetz hosted a open house in our new computer lab where employees could get familiar with logging in on the computers and begin to learn how to use the system. In implementing the Performance Management system, Ms. Tangen educated managers in all departments across the facility on how to complete the assessment process and use the reflective plan feature in order to be strategic in supporting employee development and aligning with departmental and organizational goals. She facilitated an All-Staff meeting where all staff were trained on how to complete learning assignments, view their progress, as well as complete their Self-Assessments and participate in their own performance review progress.

Ms. Goetz and Ms. Tangen at MSLCC began the implementation of the HLC by piloting the program with just a few departments. After selecting the departments, they met with participants to explain the resources and then gave two weeks to complete the training. At the end of the two week program, the departments were invited back to share their experiences—what went well for them and what didn’t. Feedback from the pilot was overwhelmingly positive with employees sharing that they appreciated the ease of use and the ability to do it on the clock, but at their own convenience. Even employees that were less computer-literate reported high levels of satisfaction with the new learning resources.

The feedback from the pilot was helpful when rolling out the program to the rest of the facility, as employees were not as fearful of the new program and ultimately less resistant to the facility-wide implementation. Ms. Goetz also participates in several HealthStream User Groups (HUG) where she is able to connect with other users that shared helpful implementation experiences and recommendations.

Results:

MSLCC now uses HealthStream resources for new employee orientation which has made the process more efficient and engaging. Required onboarding training was put into courses for new employees so they are now completed in a timely manner, and all employees have the information they need right from the start of their jobs. This solution provides an efficient way to automatically assign courses so that no employee is missed.

Ms. Goetz shared that, in the past, it would take as long as three months to get new staff into orientation. Now, that process occurs within 14 days of the employee’s start date. Moreover, the process is more engaging. Historically, the orientation happened over the course of what could feel like a long day for employees and consisted of passive learning. Now, the HLC is participatory and much more engaging for employees.

The HLC has freed Ms. Goetz and her staff from many of the administrative tasks associated with tracking and reporting progress on training and education and focus more on those live training events where instructor-led training is still preferable to web based training. While there are still times when instructor-led training may be preferable, that training also appears on the HLC on each student’s transcript.