Nevada Health, the largest federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Nevada, faced a growing challenge: how to strengthen leadership and engagement across a rapidly expanding organization. With a lack of manager and leadership training impacting culture and patient experience, leadership knew something had to change. Their solution was to invest in people first — with help from Relias.
“Our CEO knew that if we invested in our leaders, everything else—employee engagement, patient satisfaction, retention — would improve. And it has.”
– Dana Adams, Director of Leadership and Organizational Development, Nevada Health
Challenge
Before Adams’ arrival, Nevada Health’s training infrastructure was minimal. Relias was used only for annual compliance courses. Leadership development was virtually nonexistent and frontline managers lacked the tools and support needed to grow. “Nevada Health is the first place I’ve worked where culture isn’t driven by the almighty dollar — it’s driven by people,” Adams noted. “But back then, we didn’t have the right systems in place to support that culture at the leadership level.” Turnover rates among employees were high, and engagement surveys reflected the lack of structured development opportunities. Leadership recognized that building a strong internal leadership pipeline was not just a “nice-to-have” — it was a business imperative.
Actions
Adams and his team took a creative approach, fully leveraging Relias beyond compliance training. Using the Training Plan feature, they built theme-based development programs in areas like:
- Project management fundamentals
- Wellness and work-life balance
- Customer service excellence
- Emerging leadership skills
- Business communication and writing
Each program blended self-paced Relias courses, face-to-face workshops, mentorship meetings, and a capstone course designed in-house. “We didn’t just use Relias for compliance. We built real experiences — training packaged in a way that made people want to complete them,” Adams explained.
Rather than simply assigning courses, the programs were marketed internally as career development experiences — with certificates, public recognition, and celebrations upon completion. New employees experienced the impact immediately, entering onboarding pathways focused on empathy, accountability, and cultural fit, none of which existed before.
Results
Since launching the expanded leadership program:
- Engagement and collaboration among leaders have significantly improved.
- Attrition rates among staff have declined by 20%.
- Training participation is exceptionally high — with most employees completing voluntary, year-long programs within the first three months.
- Manager favorability, per the engagement scores, has increased maintaining a high of at least 10 points above the national average.
“Most employees finish their programs within the first quarter — even though they have a whole year. That’s a testament to how much people value this development,” Adams shared.
Leadership has also noticed a clear culture shift toward greater transparency, collaboration, and confidence at every level of the organization. This, in turn, has led to a Net Promoter Score (NPS) above the national average.
Nevada Health sees great value in Relias
When budget discussions arose, Nevada Health evaluated a dozen alternative vendors but ultimately reaffirmed their commitment to Relias.
“We evaluated a dozen other vendors and realized Relias was still the best fit. There’s just no comparison,” Adams said. “Without Relias, tracking training would be a nightmare. We’d probably need a full-time clerk just to manage spreadsheets.”
The built-in content libraries, flexible training plans, and seamless tracking tools provided the perfect foundation for building scalable, meaningful development programs — without overwhelming staff or administration. In fact, Nevada Health now saves 10 hours of administrative work for each cohort that takes their leadership program through Relias.
Despite ongoing financial challenges facing FQHCs nationwide, Nevada Health’s leadership remains committed to investing in people first. Their strong culture, supported by Relias, is a major reason they continue to thrive — even during uncertain times.
“Our people believe in this company because they see the investment in their growth. That’s what makes the difference,” Adams said.
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