Sign up ASAP to Receive Free Training and a Stipend Through Project ECHO!
The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) and LeadingAge NY will offer training through Project ECHO to help keep COVID-19 from spreading in New York’s nursing homes and prepare staff to protect residents and themselves. We invite you to join us in this essential effort, which is free and offers participating facilities a $6,000 stipend upon completion. Participation in the NYAM/LeadingAge NY training initiative is limited to the first 70 nursing homes, and the initial deadline to sign up is this Fri., Nov. 13th.
This 16-week training and mentoring program is part of the National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network supported by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Project ECHO. The team at NYAM – together with LeadingAge NY – is participating in the Network as an official training center for nursing homes.
All Medicare- and Medicaid-eligible nursing homes in New York State are invited to join this free, voluntary program, which has six goals:
- Keep the virus out of nursing homes.
- Find out early if residents and staff have been infected.
- Prevent the spread of the virus among staff, residents, and visitors.
- Provide safe, appropriate care to all residents, including those with COVID-19.
- Ensure that staff practice safety measures to protect residents and themselves.
- Reduce social isolation for residents, families, and staff.
Participants will be educated on best practices by experts from IHI, NYAM, and LeadingAge NY and learn from their peers. Each interactive weekly session will give nursing home staff a chance to share best practices and learn from their peers while benefiting from the guidance of nursing home and quality improvement experts. Each session will include a 60-minute brief lecture or lesson paired with case presentations and discussion, followed by an optional 30-minute question and answer (Q&A) forum.
We are currently signing up nursing homes on a first come, first served basis for this training. Our first training cohort is tentatively scheduled to launch on Nov. 17, 2020, with all 16 weekly sessions held on Tuesdays at 1 p.m.; a second training cohort is planned to begin on Nov. 19, 2020 and offer weekly sessions on Thursdays at 3 p.m. It is possible that your facility has been or will be contacted by one of the other ECHO partners in New York to participate in their training, but we very much encourage you to take advantage of our training partnership with NYAM, which will give your staff access to LeadingAge NY clinical and regulatory experts.
To participate, you must enroll at least two staff members in this 16-week training, which is geared toward clinical staff including doctors, nurses, certified nursing assistants (CNAs), infection control personnel, and administrative officers (e.g., nurse leaders, medical directors). Participants will increase their knowledge of infection control and quality improvement and receive the support of a network of peers and colleagues. Additional benefits of participating in this program include a $6,000 stipend to each facility for successful completion of the program and a certificate of completion for participating individuals.
If your facility is interested in participating in the 16-week ECHO training, please complete this Google form for EACH STAFF MEMBER that would like to attend. While there is no specific limit on the number of participating staff from each facility, facilities must designate at least two staff members that can attend the entire 16-week training sequence. We recommend that designated staff participants agree on the time and day of the week of the sessions they prefer and reflect this preference in the Google form.
For additional information, please review the letter from NYAM and LeadingAge NY, the Project ECHO Information Flyer, and the Frequently Asked Questions document. If you have further questions, kindly contact me.
Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866