What kinds of training does a caregiver get before taking care of seniors?
Not all agencies require the extensive training that Pinnacle does.
According to Karin Malkowski Stende, trainer/human resources associate, Pinnacle requires “very intensive, 30-plus hours of classroom and on-site training that new staff are expected to complete during their initial two weeks of employment.”
“The state requires 30 hours of training within the first 60 days of employment,” says Stende. “We believe that our two-week training model exceeds that requirement and allows us to better equip our new staff with the knowledge and expertise they will need in order to be of maximum service to the consumer.”
The Pinnacle curriculum includes training on:
- The Vulnerable Adult/Maltreatment of Minors Act (which mandates reporting of actual or suspected abuse/maltreatment of vulnerable adults and/or minors)
- Rule 40 (which regulates the use of controlled procedures)
- Medication administration
- Home health aide competency
- Basic dementia training (which includes communication skills and working with challenging behaviors)
- CPR and first aid from American Red Cross-certified instructors
- Boundaries
- Vehicle safety
- Funding and waivers
- HIPAA
- Alternative intervention, and
- Pinnacle Services company history, mission, and core values.
New staff also gets intensive on-site orientation that includes medical equipment training, as well as completing risk management post-tests.
“All of our trainings are designed to give our new staff the confidence and competence they need so they can provide consumers with services of the highest quality — one of our company’s core values,” says Stende.
