SITUATION:
Coordinated Consulting Services (CCS) was hired to develop and facilitate four training sessions for an all-day emergency preparedness training symposium for AACHC’s community health center members. Based on CCS’s expertise on varied emergency preparedness topics, the CCS team was able to develop and facilitate training in the four specific areas.
NEED:
In the fall of 2023, AACHC located in Phoenix, Arizona, began discussing with CCS how to provide emergency preparedness training to their members. They wanted to offer instruction on how to develop Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS)-complaint emergency operations plans. They had previously collected information from their members about potential training and decided to also offer training on de-escalation strategies, workplace violence issues, including active shooter response, and information about Arizona’s Coalition for Healthcare Emergency Response (AzCHER).
SOLUTION:
CCS developed and led four training sessions for AACHC’s 2023 Emergency Preparedness & Management Symposium on March 17, 2023. CCS used their varied expertise to provide the following training sessions during the symposium:
- De-escalation Strategies for Healthcare Professionals,
- Workplace Violence / Active Shooter Planning and Response,
- CMS Compliant Emergency Operations Plans for Community Health Centers, and
- The Role of the Arizona Coalition of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness (AZCHER) and Arizona Healthcare Organizations in Emergency Preparedness and Response.
CCS created content outlines and worked closely with AACHC to ensure the content was customized to AACHC and member needs. CCS created slides and training materials for each session and incorporated activities and breakout groups to promote participant engagement. AACHC feedback was incorporated into the training sessions and materials. CCS leveraged their partnerships to incorporate AzCHER into the training session so that CCS and AzCHER were able to co-present. CCS used poll slides to gather participant information and encourage engagement. Although there were connection issues with the poll slides, CCS was able to gather data from participants to share with AACHC.
OUTCOME:
AACHC provided emergency preparedness training for their members via an in-person option and an online component for those who were unable to travel to Phoenix. Members have an increased understanding of the emergency preparedness requirements for CMS-compliant emergency planning and increased their awareness of AzCHER, including how AzCHER can help CHC’s meet planning requirements. Members were engaged in de-escalation training and had the opportunity to practice their skills. There were opportunities to work in groups by organization and across organizations. During the Workplace Violence session, participants were able to share their expertise and experience with participants from other organizations. Feedback from participants showed that 75% of participants were satisfied or very satisfied with the symposium. 85% would recommend CCS (the presenters) for future training and 95% noted they learned something they could apply back at their organization.
