A Win-Win Solution to Meet Your Education and Budget Needs Interview with Billy Jo Anderson, Infection Prevention/Continuing Education Coordinator; Charisse Oland, CEO; and Robin Winiarczyk, Quality Improvement Manager at Rusk County Memorial Hospital Background Rusk County Memorial Hospital (RCMH) is located in Ladysmith, WI. It houses 25 beds and 160 employees, including eight per diem and consulting staff. Services the hospital offers include a primary care clinic, cardiac rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging, emergency care, inpatient care, and swing bed rehab care. A Cost-Effective System RCMH began using Relias Learning* in March 2014. “We’ve virtually eliminated overtime pay for training and continuing education,” says Continuing Education Coordinator Billy Jo Anderson, “as managers can build online courses into regular schedules, and staff can complete them during downtime.” Evidence-based and Customizable Content Charisse Oland, CEO of Rusk County Memorial Hospital, appreciates having up-to-date education modules for a variety of professions— from clinical to maintenance, housekeeping and administrative. “Relias is constantly updating its educational materials as requirements change, and the robust range of professions that are covered ensures that all staff can benefit from the system, not just our clinical staff.” Before Relias With Relias Annually, RCMH invested 320 hours of time for onsite, all-staff-required safety and compliance training. Considering the average cost of salary and benefits per employee, RCMH estimates these sessions cost $8,000 every year. In addition, RCMH invested $300 per person for 20 employees to travel off-site for continuing education. That’s an additional cost of $6,000 each year. After switching to Relias, RCMH no longer needs to pay travel costs or overtime since employees complete courses on their own time, wherever they are Estimated annual education costs: $14,000 Annual education costs: $9,300 RCMH staff also reap the benefits of easy module customization. “When we want to add a higher level of engagement with the modules or want to further test if staff understand the materials, we are able to add custom questions that allow for more openended, discussion-based answers,” Oland says. With Relias, staff are able to go through materials on their own time. “When we conducted our own internal education, across all departments, it became very difficult to be efficient with staff time,” says Robin Winiarczyk, Quality Improvement Manager. “And certain departments require a lot of continuing education throughout the year. Now, it’s all covered under the Relias system.” “Everybody in the building has easy access to unlimited education, which makes staying current with certifications and compliance requirements a lot less stressful,” Anderson agrees.