New Family Caregiver resource made available by the Dementia Action Collaborative and The University of Washington

The percentage of Individuals experiencing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) as well as those diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Dementia are growing every year. Caregivers and family member dedicated to supporting these individuals require the most up to date medical information to help ensure the ones they care for can thrive during challenging times.

This resource has been designed to assist family caregivers of those experiencing memory impairment and dementia understand how to form working partnerships with healthcare providers, how to organize, and streamline tasks, and communicate about the care needs of the person living with dementia, as we as well as how to reduce the chances of avoidable care transitions. 

To learn more visit Partnering with Your Healthcare Provider or scan the QR code to the right.

To find other resources made available by the Dementia Action Collaborative (DAC) visit the Dementia Action Collaborative | DSHS (wa.gov) 

Hundreds of New Training Classes from Industry Leaders: Relias and Home Care Pulse

This month the Carelearn Admin Team is excited to announce its formal partnership with Relias and Home Care Pulse, two of the nation’s largest Long Term Care training content developers. This partnership will allow CareLearners to access over 700 new training courses.  

Over 200 of those courses have been pre-approved to award DSHS Continuing Education (CE) credit to learners and are currently being added into the CareLearn LMS.  The remaining courses are be reviewed for CE eligibility by a DSHS governing body and are expected to be available over the coming months. 

In addition to bringing new content to CareLearn, this partnership has allowed for the expansion of available training courses in alternative languages.  CareLearn now has entire trainings, as well as training transcripts, available in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

To see new and upcoming titles visit our Home Page. 

To become a CareLearner visit our Access Carelearn Page and follow the instructions to fill out your new user account request form.

We will continue to send out updates about new classes that have been made available within CareLearn as well as list them on the CareLearn home page.

The Washington State Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Council and CareLearn remain dedicated to developing the Washington workforce.

Provider shortages have been reported in all 50 states within all areas of the health care industry.  Although Washington state has been continuously recognized as an industry leader within Long Term Care Services and Supports (LTSS) our state is not exempt from feeling the impact of that shortage.   

The good news is organizations such as CareLearn and Washington's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Council remain dedicated to combatting the shortage by creating new training opportunities that will both increase the number of available providers, as well as improve the skills of the current providers of Washington State.   

Recent efforts made by CareLearn administrators include the shopping for, and potential procurement of over 300 new training activities specifically relating to providing care within Adult Family Homes, Assisted living Facilities, and within the in-home care setting.   

Washington State's TBI Council is also bringing new trainings to Washington Providers with the help of The University of Washington, University of Oregon, and The Center on Brain Injury Research and Training. Washingtonians may now register for, and access free online and instructor lead Workforce development trainings designed for anyone supporting an adult with a TBI. Additionally, there are specific trainings designed for individuals supporting students with a brain injury. In addition to these training opportunities the TBI Council has created an opportunity to connect providers and specialists to review real world experiences and discuss evidence-based behavioral treatments relevant to those providers. To learn more about these amazing opportunities visit the  DSHS Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Resources Webpage.

DSHS Updates Emergency Rules surrounding Long-Term Care Training Requirements.

The department is requiring Long-term Care Workers to complete training requirements by certain dates that would potentially be before the suspension of the training requirements end. 

The Department is dividing the group of LTCWs who are working now and started within 120 days of when the suspension went into place in early 2020, into cohorts based on length of time working. The rule would then require each cohort to complete the requirements by deadlines in rule with the “oldest” LTCWs having the first deadline and then working through the groups chronologically. 

This emergency filing cancels and supersedes the emergency filed as WSR 22-04-008 on January 21, 2022. Long-term Care Workers are required to complete certain training requirements within specific deadlines. The passage of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1120 during the 2021 Legislative Session, the suspension of training requirements deadlines will end when the public health emergency ends or if the Governor or the Legislature acts. 

DSHS anticipates that the end of the suspension of LTCW training requirements would create a sudden surge in demand for training that would likely exceed capacity of training entities and result in LTCW’s failing to complete the requirements in time.

Long-Term Care workers, administrators and other invested parties may view the filing in its entirety clicking the following link WSR 22-08-110.  

User Feedback Guides Training Content Development 

From CareLearn's inception, user feedback has continuously driven system updates, improvements, and content acquisition. Through surveys, direct messaging, and focus groups, the CareLearn administrators have heard the requests from invested parties and have worked hard to deliver. 

This month, Carelearn is pleased to provide an additional response to the requests received.

Developed by Home and Community Services staff, new training courses DSHS Introduction to Mental Disorders, and DSHS Caregiving for Individuals with have been created to provide Washington States Long-Term Care providers additional tools to serve the growing population of individuals suffering from mental health conditions.

Current CareLearners may access these new trainings by clicking the links above.  

Long-Term Care providers not currently enrolled with CareLearn may request a CareLearn account by clicking the following Link and following the instructions outlined on the page.

If you have questions about CareLearn, its available training content, or any other DSHS related topic you may reach our support team at CareLearnSupport@dshs.wa.gov. 

New CareLearn (SumTotal) Mobile App And Desktop System Updates  

As Internet Service Providers (ISPs) continue to speed up our personal and professional networks, CareLearn  must adapt to the modern technology through continued innovation.   

The most recent change to the CareLearn (SumTotal) platform may impact those of you accessing our training activities on older mobile devices.  iPhones and iPads running iOS 13 or older are no longer supported.  Also, Android devices running version 8 or older are no longer supported.     

Accessibility to the CareLearn (SumTotal) platform on traditional desktops and laptops remain unchanged supporting Microsoft Edge (Chromium & Legacy) Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.     

If you are a current or perspective user and have technical questions, please reach out to our support team at  CareLearnSupport@dshs.wa.gov. 

Your Wish Is Our Command!

The CareLearn Administrators have heard the requests submitted by current users and are pleased to announce the addition of the following training courses.

Everyone Can Communicate - 7 CE units  

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) - 1.5 CE units

Implementing Participant Directed Supports - 3 CE units

Community Inclusion - 4 CE units

In addition to the CE approved courses listed above, CareLearners may now access the following condition specific, safety, and general knowledge courses designed to increase caregiver skills.

Cerebral Palsy

Diabetes

Epilepsy

Brain Injury

Emergency Preparedness

Home and Community Living

Supporting Older Adults

Introduction to Developmental Disabilities 

Teaching People With Developmental Disabilities

Current CareLearners may access these trainings by logging into the CareLearn platform and searching for the training by title.

Eligible parties looking to become CareLearners may request an account by visiting our Access CareLearn page and following the instructions on how to become a CareLearner.

The New Year Brings New Content To Current Carelearn Users

Instead of creating an alternative resolution for the 2022 calendar year, CareLearn administrators have doubled down on their mission to provide up to date and relevant training activities to eligible Washington Long Term Care providers.  

As in the previous year, new content is being added to the CareLearn LMS every week.  Current users may now find handouts from the National Institute of Mental Health,  Dementia Action Collaborative, as well as the Alzheimer's Association. 

In addition to the new publication contributions, Carelearn has added 4 new DSHS continuing education (CE) approved courses that offer a combined total of 19.5 hours of CE credits to users.  

Course titles and available credits can be seen below:  

Cultural Competence - 6.5 CE units 

Civil Rights and Advocacy - 4.5 CE units 

Safety - 8 CE units 

Intellectual and Developmental Differences - .5 CE units 

Current CareLearners may access these trainings by logging into the CareLearn platform and searching for the training by title.

Eligible parties looking to become CareLearners may request an account by visiting our Access CareLearn page and following the instructions on how to become a CareLearner.

CareLearn has created the HCA Skills Practice Procedure Video library

Within the CareLearn (Sumtotal Application) library, CareLearners now have access to video demonstrations of  personal care skills being performed.   The skills depicted within this video series are the same skills taught by training programs on the job or by community instructors using the Fundamentals of Caregiving curricula or other DSHS approved training materials.  

Whether CareLearners are needing to review the step by step procedure of a skill for a new client, or they simply want a quick refresher on how to perform a skill for their HCA Prometric's test they can now watch these videos at their convenience on a desktop or mobile device.

CareLearnWA.com now has User How To Walk Through videos

CareLearn Administrators have added video tutorials on certain CareLearn functions to our Access CareLearn webpage.

Below the written instructions to request an account, future CareLearners may now watch an administrator submit a new account request form, log into Carelearn for the first time,  search for and take a training, print a diploma and much more.  

CareLearn Enhancements Continue to Improve User Experiences

Within the CareLearn (Sumtotal Mobile Application), CareLearners may now use the Library feature.  Instead of using the search option mobile users may now review courses by topics and categories to identify the learning materials that meet their needs prior to registering for that class.  Instructions on how to use the new feature have been added to the How To Use Carelearn Library, and a PDF version can now be downloaded by visiting our Access CareLearn webpage.

The libraries themselves have also been updated.  The menu was re-structured by making the How to Use CareLearn Library more prominent.  Administrators also created a new library called Courses By Category.  Within this library all courses were organized into related category topics to allow for easier searching.

This month administrators have added another library called the Caregiver Document Hub.  This library consists of downloadable caregiver resource documents. None of the documents within this library provide continuing education credit, however, they provide CareLearners the ability to take home knowledge that may be beneficial for future use.

In addition to the modifications outlined above, Carelearn administrators are continually adding new trainings to the online library.  Since July, Carelearn has added 13 DSHS continuing education (CE) approved courses that offer a combined total of 62.5 hours of CE credits to users.  Course titles and available credits can be seen below:

Personal Care - 5.5 CE units

Direct Support Professionalism - 3.5 CE units

Person-Centered Planning - 4 CE units

Introduction to Medication Support - 7.5 CE units

Individual Rights and Choice - 4 CE units

Professional Documentation - 3.25 CE units

Understanding Depression - 3 CE units

You've Got A Friend: A Course On Relationships - 3.5 CE units

Universal Precautions - 3.25 CE units

Working With Families and Support Networks - 3 CE units

Supporting Healthy Lives - 8 CE units

Understanding Transitions Across The Lifespan - 5.5 CE units

Introduction to Mental Health and Mental Illnesses - 8.5 CE units