San Diego, California, Feb. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National University System’s (NUS) Workforce Education Solutions collaborated with Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, the largest children’s hospital in California, and Northcentral University to develop a customized workforce training program in mental and behavioral health education for hospital staff. The program, developed in three weeks, is offered to front desk and emergency staff as well as nurses and clinical and non-clinical support staff. The initiative demonstrates the rapid-response ability of Workforce Education Solutions to help organizations upskill employees to address societal and industry needs.
This endeavor supported the hospital’s strategic initiatives in behavioral health as it works to integrate an organizational approach to addressing and strengthening mental health supports, an issue of increasing importance during the current pandemic. More than 1,200 employees have participated in the online training modules made available to Rady Children’s employees. NUS-Workforce Education Solutions, Northcentral University and National University collaborated to develop the module-based behavioral health program. Both higher education institutions are affiliates of the National University System’s (NUS) network of private, nonprofit universities, with programs that include behavioral health and nursing.
“We are very pleased to be able to offer Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego immediate workforce training that supports family and patient needs. During these challenging times, it is more important than ever to ensure that our health care workers and supporting staff have access to resources that are immediately applicable to our current environment and community needs,” said Chris Graham, President of NUS-Workforce Education Solutions. “We believe strongly in the ability of education and training to support employer needs, encourage workforce preparedness and ultimately better our communities.”
The online course integrates behavioral health degree program curricula, with topics specifically identified and tailored to the needs of the Hospital’s employees, patients and families. These needs include awareness and recognition of mental and behavioral health issues, decreasing the stigmatization of mental health, and improving employee coping and resiliency skills to handle challenging situations, particularly in the midst of the pandemic.
Faculty created tailored content, and Northcentral University support teams designed and loaded the content into a vibrant online platform. Faculty worked with support teams to create multiple personalized interaction opportunities throughout the modules, including an “ask the expert” feature and dozens of live Zoom sessions. Simultaneously, operational teams created tracking processes to ensure Continuing Education Units could be confirmed and awarded to distinct groups of Rady team members.
“During this time of crisis, there has been a marked increase in mental health and stress-related behaviors, making our faculty’s expertise more valuable than ever. I am very proud of the ways we came together with Rady Children’s Hospital to make this happen – and in such short order,” said Dr. John LaNear, provost and chief academic officer at Northcentral University.
The combined experience of Northcentral University, National University and NUS-Workforce Education Solutions in developing quality online programs for adult learners ensured the behavioral health program would be accessible and adaptable to staff. The program takes 16 hours to complete and includes 14 hours of self-paced learning and 2 hours of online peer-faculty collaboration. Staff completing the program earn 16-hours of continuing education credit that can be used to fulfill professional licensing requirements.
“We saw a need for all of our staff, not just those in the behavioral health field, to be trained to have a deeper understanding of the key areas of mental health to provide additional support to our patients and families throughout their whole time with us,” said Domonique Hensler, MHA, Senior Director of Care Redesign Planning and Mental Health Integration. “Partnering with NUS-Workforce Education Solutions on this initiative provided us the opportunity to customize the training to ensure our staff would be better prepared across all patient touchpoints.”
The collaboration with Rady Children’s continues to evolve. NUS-Workforce Education Solutions also recently designed a program to help the Hospital upskill employees in disaster management to prepare leaders and staff for long-term management of the pandemic. Approximately 100 employees at the Hospital were invited to complete the training, which was developed and deployed in less than five weeks by customizing content from courses available in National University’s highly successful bachelor’s degree program in emergency management.
NUS-Workforce Education Solutions is working with employers and industries around the country to develop targeted educational and training programs to meet emerging needs in the workforce, such as in behavioral health, leadership, disaster management, IT, cybersecurity and online teaching. A recent certificate program was developed in coordination with Amazon Global Military to support the upskilling of members of the military transitioning to civilian careers and a separate initiative prepares PK-12 leaders to create programs in online teaching and curriculum development. NUS-Workforce Education Solutions, in collaboration with academic affiliates and industry partners, is also developing leadership training on managing online, remote and hybrid teams in response to a growing need during the recent pandemic.
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About the National University System
Established in 2001 to meet the emerging challenges and demands of education in the 21st Century, the National University System is a network of accredited nonprofit education institutions serving higher education and K-12 students including National University, Northcentral University, and City University of Seattle. Initiatives of the System include Workforce Education Solutions and the Sanford Programs: Sanford Harmony, Sanford Inspire and Sanford Institute of Philanthropy. Learn more at National University System.
About Workforce Education Solutions
A division of the National University System, WES partners with corporations, industries, and government agencies to provide learning solutions to upskill the nation’s workforce. WES offers educational partnerships, training and development, customized education and hiring partnerships. Visit nusystem.org/partnership.
About National University
National University, a veteran-founded nonprofit, has been dedicated to meeting the needs of hard-working adults by providing accessible, affordable, achievable higher education opportunities since 1971. As San Diego’s largest private nonprofit university, NU offers over 75 online and on-campus programs and flexible four-week classes designed to help students reach their goals while balancing busy lives. Since its founding, the NU community has grown to over 25,000 students and 175,000 alumni around the globe, many of whom serve in helping industries such as business, education, health care, cybersecurity, and law and criminal justice. Learn more at NU.edu.
About Northcentral University
Founded in 1996, Northcentral University is a regionally accredited, nonprofit, online and graduate-focused university serving professionals globally. NCU offers doctoral, master's and bachelor's degrees in business, education and psychology, as well as doctoral and master's degrees in marriage and family therapy, technology and health sciences.
Northcentral University is a nonprofit affiliate of the private, nonprofit National University System. It is regionally accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).
About Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego
Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego is a 505-bed pediatric care facility providing the largest source of comprehensive pediatric medical services in San Diego, southern Riverside and Imperial counties. Rady Children’s is the only health system in the San Diego area dedicated exclusively to pediatric healthcare and is the region’s only designated pediatric trauma center. In June 2020, U.S. News & World Report ranked Rady Children’s among the best children’s hospitals in the nation in all ten pediatric specialties the magazine surveyed. Rady Children’s is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations to support its mission. For more information, visit www.rchsd.org and find us on Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo.
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