Virtual Training Brings Caregivers Closer Together
It’s normal to feel anxious about trying something new. With the chaos of COVID-19, 2020 has been a year of everyone moving outside their comfort zone. At Kindred, the pandemic has motivated all of us – especially our caregivers – to lead with courage. In response to evolving public health guidelines, we pivot when needed. We try new things to ensure we’re supporting our caregivers with the right skills and tools to do their important work safely and reliably while helping our clients enjoy an extended life at home.
This past March, we introduced an innovative program as part of the Government of New Brunswick’s Healthy Seniors Pilot Project. It’s called the Wellness Check Initiative – a digital platform that proactively monitors our clients’ health status and risk factors with input from our caregivers. So far, our clients and caregivers love the platform because it helps them understand how healthy habits can improve quality of life at home while mitigating health issues, which reduces pressure on the health-care system. It’s a win all around.
For our caregivers, the core focus of Wellness Check training is learning how to perform assessments – like blood pressure monitoring, mobility testing and cognitive assessments – through the digital platform in real time while helping clients feel comfortable throughout the entire process. Previous training sessions for the initiative had been completed partially in-person, but when a few NB regions turned back to the Orange Phase level of recovery abruptly in late November, we had to pivot again. In a moment, everything changed.
Fortunately, we had the help and expertise of our sister company, PeakForm Health and Safety Academy – a New Brunswick leader in virtual training for our industry. Together, we were able to transition to completely virtual training via Zoom, within 72 hours. While many of our caregivers have gone through PeakForm for their initial training certification, interacting with this new technology is not generally part of their every day. For a moment, we were concerned about how they would respond to this quick change. Their support was overwhelming, with a 100% participation rate, despite it being an unfamiliar experience for many.
“The training experience was very straightforward, easy to understand, and thorough in breaking things down,” says Melissa Hamilton, one of our caregivers and virtual training participants. “The instructors were amazing in allowing the participants to ask questions and delivering the answers promptly and clearly. Overall, it was a great experience in learning new skills!”
For some participants, the training was their first Zoom experience.
“Being my first Zoom meeting, it went well! We’re in a time of uncertainty, and I foresee a lot of future training being online. Now I’m prepared for it,” explains Amanda McGraw, a caregiver and Wellness Check training participant. “With this career, we don’t see our co-workers often or even have a chance to meet one another. This was a way to bring us all together.”
The resiliency of our team continues to impress and inspire us. More changes are likely on the horizon, and we’re proud to work with people who take these challenges head-on. Thank you to our team for continuously adapting with us to get things done and improve life for our clients.
