The Greater Philadelphia Healthcare Partnership (GPHP) has completed another successful year (our 13th!) which included 535 training participations, four quarterly meetings for our partners, and several special events including great opportunities to showcase and educate others about our work in Registered Apprenticeship. GPHP has helped shape future of workforce development in Pennsylvania through partnerships with Commonwealth's Department of Labor & Industry and Philadelphia Works, Inc., work we look forward to continuing during the 2018-19 year. We also completed our large federal Ready-to-Work grant with more than planned participation and we hosted a National Apprenticeship Week event for Philadelphia High School students.
On the training front, GPHP continued offering its free or highly discounted clinical, management, soft skills, computer and other programs. Participating employers sent hundreds to Dementia Training, Communication and Customer Service, and CPR Certification. We also worked with Temple Center for Social Policy and Community Development to provide two cohorts of college-credited Community Health Worker training. For the coming year, we have worked with Philadelphia FIGHT to design Trauma-Informed Care workshops to be offered this year to all employers as this is becoming an important topic for all healthcare workers given the populations we serve.
In July, Amy Cowperthwaite – the founder of Avkin, an advanced technology product line for patient simulation training – was unable to attend our meeting as she was out at a client, but her teammates April Prior and Robert Tilley did a wonderful presentation on the history of nursing simulation training and how Avkin (formerly known as Simucare) has come up with a simulation that is high tech and as human-like as possible. They also did a demo. The objective of the Avkin training line is to bridge the gaps between education and patient outcomes.
In October, Dr. Cathy Piersol, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA of Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Occupational Therapy and director of Jefferson Elder Care delivered her presentation on best practices in dementia care staff training. Dr. Piersol delivered an overview of two presentation modules prepared and utilized by Jefferson Elder Care for their staff’s professional development. The first module covers “Understanding Dementia and Behavioral Symptoms,” while the second focuses on “Practical Ways to Care For People with Dementia.” Both modules offer a practical and pragmatic approach to dementia care, regularly utilized at Jefferson-affiliated skilled nursing facilities, as well as other facilities in the region, including some GPHP partners!
In January, GPHP welcomed Philadelphia Works, Inc.’s CEO Patrick Clancy, who addressed us on the workforce development board’s plans and innovation strategies for strengthening Philadelphia’s and Southeastern Pennsylvania’s labor markets. In addition to providing an overview of the Philadelphia Works and PA CareerLink® systems, Clancy discussed PWI and the City’s plans for an increasingly-innovative approach to workforce development, one that not only monitors and responds to national trends and Best Practices but helps set the tone for what a public workforce “Best Practice” should be.
Our last quarterly meeting in April featured Philadelphia FIGHT, the Training Fund’s founding Registered Apprenticeship partners with its Community Health Worker program, presented on a related FIGHT program, building on many of the same findings of the efficacy of peer relationships in medical treatment that helped inspire the CHW program. FIGHT’s Project TEACH is a homegrown, innovative 8-week health education program for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) developed in Philadelphia by PLWHA and ACT UP Philadelphia members as a way to train peer leaders to become HIV experts and community educators. TEACH is founded on the belief that people have a right to know about their own bodies and to determine their own path.
Our National Apprenticeship Week event in November featured local, state, national and federal Apprenticeship experts as well as healthcare professionals in several career paths presenting rotating interactive sessions to 175 Philadelphia High School students interested in health careers. Apprenticeship sponsors and apprentices were part of the lively day. As we move into 2018-19, we are pleased to continue our activities and add some new ones. Keep your eye out for Apprenticeship expansion, pre-apprenticeship and youth work as well as stimulating meetings and events!
In July, Amy Cowperthwaite – the founder of Avkin, an advanced technology product line for patient simulation training – was unable to attend our meeting as she was out at a client, but her teammates April Prior and Robert Tilley did a wonderful presentation on the history of nursing simulation training and how Avkin (formerly known as Simucare) has come up with a simulation that is high tech and as human-like as possible. They also did a demo. The objective of the Avkin training line is to bridge the gaps between education and patient outcomes.
In October, Dr. Cathy Piersol, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA of Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Occupational Therapy and director of Jefferson Elder Care delivered her presentation on best practices in dementia care staff training. Dr. Piersol delivered an overview of two presentation modules prepared and utilized by Jefferson Elder Care for their staff’s professional development. The first module covers “Understanding Dementia and Behavioral Symptoms,” while the second focuses on “Practical Ways to Care For People with Dementia.” Both modules offer a practical and pragmatic approach to dementia care, regularly utilized at Jefferson-affiliated skilled nursing facilities, as well as other facilities in the region, including some GPHP partners!
In January, GPHP welcomed Philadelphia Works, Inc.’s CEO Patrick Clancy, who addressed us on the workforce development board’s plans and innovation strategies for strengthening Philadelphia’s and Southeastern Pennsylvania’s labor markets. In addition to providing an overview of the Philadelphia Works and PA CareerLink® systems, Clancy discussed PWI and the City’s plans for an increasingly-innovative approach to workforce development, one that not only monitors and responds to national trends and Best Practices but helps set the tone for what a public workforce “Best Practice” should be.
Our last quarterly meeting in April featured Philadelphia FIGHT, the Training Fund’s founding Registered Apprenticeship partners with its Community Health Worker program, presented on a related FIGHT program, building on many of the same findings of the efficacy of peer relationships in medical treatment that helped inspire the CHW program. FIGHT’s Project TEACH is a homegrown, innovative 8-week health education program for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) developed in Philadelphia by PLWHA and ACT UP Philadelphia members as a way to train peer leaders to become HIV experts and community educators. TEACH is founded on the belief that people have a right to know about their own bodies and to determine their own path.
Our National Apprenticeship Week event in November featured local, state, national and federal Apprenticeship experts as well as healthcare professionals in several career paths presenting rotating interactive sessions to 175 Philadelphia High School students interested in health careers. Apprenticeship sponsors and apprentices were part of the lively day. As we move into 2018-19, we are pleased to continue our activities and add some new ones. Keep your eye out for Apprenticeship expansion, pre-apprenticeship and youth work as well as stimulating meetings and events!