The healthcare industry is highly regulated. Post-acute care organizations are subject to many federal, state, and accrediting agency requirements. These regulations frequently change, making it challenging for organizations to stay up-to-date and maintain compliance across all their locations and services, as different states and service lines have varying requirements.
This is where training crosswalks become valuable tools that allow you to successfully align training programs with the constantly changing regulatory landscape. Relias’s training crosswalks help organizations match education with state-specific regulatory requirements to ensure staff competence and compliance needs.
For Kisco Senior Living, which owns and operates 22 senior living communities in six states in the U.S., Relia’s training crosswalks gave peace of mind.
“I don’t need to be the expert for all six of our states,” said Amy Park, Director of Learning and Development at Kisco, in an interview with Relias. “The crosswalk helps us benchmark what we’re assigning in training plans to ensure that we’re in compliance with the regulatory requirements of each state and OSHA for senior care.”
“Crosswalks are an ideal solution to understanding state and federal training requirements,” said Corinne Epton, MHA, CHA, CCEP, Relias Regulatory and Compliance Manager. “Using a well-designed crosswalk can help to streamline the compliance process by providing a clear and concise overview of how those training requirements align with the training provided to staff. Additionally, crosswalks serve as an essential resource for organizations to identify any gaps or redundancies in their training programs. By mapping out mandated requirements and the training being provided, organizations can create comprehensive training plans and easily address any potential issues.”
Benefits of training crosswalks
If you are responsible for maintaining compliance in your organization, below are five ways training crosswalks can help you manage compliance better.
Ensuring compliance
Crosswalks provide a systematic approach to mapping the different training requirements, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. By centralizing and simplifying complex regulations, crosswalks become vital resources for organizations striving to meet compliance standards consistently.
Streamlining training programs
Operating in multiple states or offering various services often means dealing with a mixture of regulations that may overlap or conflict with one another. Crosswalks allow you to identify commonalities, similarities, and differences between training requirements. This information can streamline training programs, eliminate redundancies, and cover all necessary components. By optimizing training processes, crosswalks allow you to allocate resources more efficiently while maintaining high standards of care.
Enhancing consistency
Consistency in training is vital for your organization, as it directly impacts the quality of care you provide to residents. Crosswalks assist in establishing standardized training protocols that are compliant across all locations and services. You can develop comprehensive curricula that meet the highest regulatory standards by identifying common training elements. This consistency ensures that all staff members receive the same level of education and fosters a culture of excellence within the organization.
Facilitating staff mobility
In post-acute care, staff mobility is often necessary due to fluctuating patient or resident needs or operational demands. When organizations operate in multiple states or offer various services, transferring staff between locations can be complicated, especially when different training requirements are involved. Crosswalks enable a seamless transition for employees, as they clearly outline the equivalencies between training modules or certifications. This allows organizations to leverage their workforce efficiently, ensuring that skilled professionals can be deployed wherever needed.
Adapting to regulatory changes
Regulatory changes are inevitable, and you must remain agile to adapt swiftly. Crosswalks simplify incorporating new training regulations by providing a framework to assess and update existing programs. By identifying gaps or discrepancies, you can promptly modify your training curricula to meet the latest standards. Crosswalks empower your organization to proactively stay ahead of regulatory changes, mitigate potential compliance risks, and maintain your reputation as a high-quality care provider.
Failure to provide effective regulatory compliance training can lead to poor care outcomes, and your organization may be subjected to fines or other legal consequences. By using training crosswalks, you can successfully meet compliance requirements, optimize training processes, and ultimately deliver high-quality care to your residents.
Confident Compliance: Driving Competency Through Culture
Post-acute and home-based care organizations operate in a turbulent regulatory environment where care standards evolve quickly, and sudden changes in state and federal requirements are almost guaranteed. Join Corinne Epton, Manager of Regulatory Compliance at Relias, as she dives into critical strategies and tools to instill more confidence in your compliance program.
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