Improve Your Pricing Level for 2019

It’s almost time to set your Training Center pricing levels for 2019. As you know, TCs can move to a new pricing level by purchasing a qualifying amount of student certification materials (print, enhanced, or digital student packs) for that corresponding level during the course of the year. If at any point during the year the TC reaches the next level, it will automatically receive the discount associated with that pricing level on the next order.         

By stocking up on student materials before December 31, 2018, you can increase your level for 2019.

Be sure to take advantage of the discount level opportunity and purchase enough student certification materials by the end of the year to reach the next level. Log in to Otis or place your orders at 800-447-3177 to build up your inventory and get the best discount you can for 2019. The more you buy now, the more you save later.

One-Millionth Order Milestone

HSI’s emergency care brands made history recently when Rick Moyle of ASHI’s Rick Moyle Training Center placed what was our one-millionth order.

As an EMS professional himself, this ASHI instructor focuses primarily on training within the EMS community. However, he’ll be branching out into community training in the future, adding hands-only CPR as well as ASHI Child & Babysitting Safety (CABS) to his TC’s offerings. When he does have the opportunity to train a non-EMS audience, Rick says he loves to use our LOOP Learning System. “I take it to nursing homes and it’s a great way to get people practicing,” he explains.

We asked Rick why he chooses to offer ASHI training. “ASHI is just more ‘street friendly’ than other providers,” he says. “The program content translates well into the space I train. I really appreciated it when ASHI changed the name of its CPR Pro program to ASHI Basic Life Support, which helped me reach more hospitals in my region who required training with ‘BLS’ in the title in order to meet their requirements.”

Thanks for giving us our 1,000,000th order, Rick! We appreciate you and the 999,999 orders before yours from all of our amazing Training Centers over the years. We would not be we are today without you all. As we continue to expand our reach into new markets and industries, we’ll be able to provide even more products and services to help our customers make their workplaces and communities safer.

We’re looking forward to helping you grow your training businesses as well!

Quality Assurance

We’re continuing our exploration of how the HSI Regulatory and Quality Assurance team supports you and your training efforts, and how a fair and rigorous quality assurance process is critical to the acceptance of our ASHI and MEDIC First Aid programs. This month, let’s look at a few key elements of HSI’s quality assurance standards and practices as published in the Training Center Administrative Manual (TCAM).

Twyla Gallaway manages all aspects of quality assurance including the Quality Assurance Reviews (QAR), and the Complaints and Credential Inquiries process. A QAR request requires that the Training Center submit documentation including, but not necessarily limited to, rosters from the last two (2) classes conducted. A complaint is a written allegation that a Training Center director or an authorized instructor or instructor trainer has committed a dishonest, unethical, or unprofessional act or violated an applicable law, rule, or regulation. A credential inquiry is a formal request by HSI to verify the credentials used for authorization of an instructor or instructor trainer.

“Regarding QARs, we strive to make the process as quick and easy as possible, while at the same time ensuring it is effective, valid, and defensible," Twyla says. "The process begins with the preliminary quality assurance review (pre-QAR). The pre-QAR is a randomly generated survey delivered to the TC by email. Its purpose is to check the TC’s understanding of HSI’s key QA practices in 4 simple 'yes' or 'no' questions. We also ask the TC director to re-attest to continued compliance with the Training Center Standards. To automatically exempt your TC from a full, more in-depth QAR, simply complete the survey within the stated timeframe. I’m always happy to answer any questions our customers may have concerning our QAR process.” (Learn more about the QAR in our February, 2018 newsletter.)

“When a complaint is filed and accepted by HSI, we conduct our process in a professional, reasonable, fair, and consistent manner,” Twyla explains. “The subject of the complaint is notified by email and certified mail and is given 2 weeks to respond. Following review of the response, the HSI Quality Assurance Board (QAB) may take one of three actions; dismiss the complaint or credential inquiry without further action, require the TC director and/or instructor or instructor trainer to execute a legally binding Compliance Agreement, or suspend or revoke the TC approval and/or instructor or instructor trainer authorization.” The QAB consists of HSI’s Medical Director, legal counsel, three HSI senior management staff, and an independent TC director. 

When the situation warrants, a Compliance Agreement specifying the corrective action that must be taken to maintain approval and/or authorization is implemented between HSI and the subject of the complaint. “It’s an opportunity for the instructor or Training Center to re-obligate themselves to our quality assurance standards,” she says. “This helps ensure that the training provided consistently meets or exceeds the requirements of HSI, regulatory authorities, and class participants.”

Why have these sorts of processes and procedures? “Our quality assurance standards are a critical factor in gaining and maintaining acceptance by regulatory authorities and other approvers as well as resolving conflicts that arise from time to time,” Twyla explains. “It’s also a big part of the success of HSI and our TCs. Because our standards are designed to monitor and improve performance, participants in ASHI or MEDIC First Aid training programs can expect a quality learning experience."

Another area where Twyla works hard to make sure our training standards remain relevant and useful are the TC Standards themselves. “The current version of the TC Standards published in the TCAM is the product of continual review and refinement based on lessons we learn through the QA process. For easy reference, any substantive changes made to the standards appear on the very first page. You can confirm the version number and the date of publication appears in the page header of the TCAM. You can find the latest TCAM (August, 2018) in your TC Manager portal or on our website at https://emergencycare.hsi.com/quality-assurance-compliance.

Anytime you have questions about HSI’s QA practices, contact your CSR at 1-800-447-3177, or you can speak directly with Twyla at extension 326.

Training Center Profiles

Meet Your Peers

Discover what your peers are thinking about the emergency care industry, the challenges their TCs face, and the solutions they’ve found in their quest to make their workplaces and communities safer.

TC Name: Southwest Emergency Medical Service, Hemet, CA

Director: Dave Livesay

Website:   https://southwestems.net

Type of Training Center: External (Training for individuals or organizations for a fee)

How long have you been in business?

4 years, 0-2 years as an ASHI TC

What is the biggest challenge for you and your business?

Finding new customers and recognition of ASHI and MEDIC First Aid programs

How do you market your business? (ranked in order of importance)

1. Website
2. Email marketing
3. Social media

What strategies or investments have proven to be a waste of time and money?

Direct mail

Based on what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself when you were starting out?

Nothing yet; I’m still trying to put it all together

Where do you see your business and the emergency care training industry in the next 5-10 years?

Offering monthly community classes

Of your business or training investments that cost less than $500, what has given you the best return?

My social media page gets a lot of responses

Where do you go to stay current with the latest industry information and knowledge?

My ASHI TC portal

What are some of the most common misconceptions or mistakes you have seen/heard in your career?

People think they can’t make a difference.

 
TC Name: University Hospital, Newark, NJ

Director: Dennis Boos

Website: www.uhnj.org/cpr

Type of Training Center: Internal (Training for employees/members at no charge)

How long have you been in business?

More than 25 years, with 0-2 years as an ASHI TC

Where do you see your business and the emergency care training industry in the next 5-10 years?

An increase of 10-20%

Based on what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself when you were starting out?

Focus on excellent customer service and aggressive marketing

What are some of the most common misconceptions or mistakes you have seen/heard in your career?

That small efforts are not worth the return

Of your business or training investments that cost less than $500, what has given you the best return?

Investing in training and in sales

What strategies have proved to be a waste of time and money?

None. We take advantage of all opportunities.

Where do you go to stay current with the latest industry information and knowledge?

ASHI, AHA, and information obtained through the source selection process

What is the biggest training challenge at your company?

Coordinating training across multiple locations

What has your company done to make safety part of the day-to-day culture?

Offering online training

What is the most difficult part of managing an internal Training Center?

Buy-in from management, working within a limited budget, and, because of our staff size, coordinating traveling and transporting training equipment

Can you share a favorite Good Samaritan story about your students?

Students have shared stories about incidents of ROSC (Return of Spontaneous Circulation) after applying CPR as learned in class, as well as incidents of assisting someone who is choking.

TC Name: CPR LifeHouse, Benicia, CA

Director: Gary Pirkig

Type of Training Center: External (Training for individuals or organizations for a fee)

How long have you been in business?

23 years, 10+ years as an ASHI TC

What is the biggest challenge for you and your business?

Recognition of ASHI and MEDIC First Aid programs

How do you market your business? (ranked in order of importance)

1. Email marketing
2. Referrals

What strategies or investments have proven to be a waste of time and money?

A database management program

Based on what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself when you were starting out?

Focus on networking, quality assurance, and good customer service

Where do you go to stay current with the latest industry information and knowledge?

ASHI

What are some of the most common misconceptions or mistakes you have seen/heard in your career?

Charging either too little or too much

 TC Name: Allan Meyers, Worcester, PA

Director: John Farrell

Website: www.AllanMyers.com

Type of Training Center: Internal (Training for employees/members at no charge)

How long have you been in business?

78 years, with 5-10 years as a MEDIC First Aid TC

Where do you see your business and the emergency care training industry in the next 5-10 years?

Training even more of our in-the-field workforce

Based on what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself when you were starting out?

Keep up on the documentation requirements

What are some of the most common misconceptions or mistakes you have seen/heard in your career?

That enough people in our industry (heavy civil construction) are already trained

Of your business or training investments that cost less than $500, what has given you the best return?

Investing in trainer development

Where do you go to stay current with the latest industry information and knowledge?

MEDIC First Aid and various websites

What is the biggest training challenge at your company?

Employee downtime and scheduling

Please share a success story about how you increased corporate leadership buy-in and support for your emergency care training efforts.

It’s understood that we are required by OSHA to have our frontline managers trained. Plus, leadership agrees that it is the right thing to do for our people.

What has your company done to make safety part of the day-to-day culture?

We really focus on safety. It’s the foremost thing on people’s minds what they start their daily shift.

What is the most difficult part of managing an internal Training Center?

Employee scheduling

Can you share a favorite Good Samaritan story about your students?

One of our employees assisted in an incident of SCA at a grocery store.

We want to hear from you!

Share your wisdom with your TC peers by completing one of our 15-minute profile surveys.

If your TC provides training for individuals or organizations for a fee, click the "External TC" button. For those TCs that offer training for employees/members at no charge, choose "Internal TC."

Hashtags and Your Training Business

In addition to your Training Center’s website, social media is another way to connect with potential customers for little-to-no cost, except for the time it takes to manage an active social media account.

While having a presence on social media is important, you can really get some traction for your accounts when you use hashtags like #CPRTraining or #EmergencyCareClass, or even just your TC’s name with a hash sign in front of it.

Entrepreneur magazine showcases Five Ways to Harness Hashtags to Drive Business Value. Here are a few of their suggestions, in the context of how social media content can drive your training business communications:

Encourage user-generated content. Student comments or photos can become marketing messages for your TC when you gather them up by asking for submissions to your social media pages that include a hashtag of your choice. You can mention the hashtag in a class, or drop it into an ad or flyer. “When hashtags are inserted into television advertisements or other marketing messages, they alert consumers that they are invited to participate. And if coupled with contests, sweepstakes or giveaways, hashtags can encourage a vast social media response that spreads across Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Instagram.”

Even without an offer of a contest, an interesting hashtag may stimulate conversation between your students or your customers.

Repurpose hashtag-driven content. “One of the great benefits of social media campaigns that is rarely capitalized on by companies is the amount of authentic marketing content available to a brand. If your contest or post stipulates that user-generated submissions can be tapped for other purposes, think about ways you can expand your marketing with the high-quality photos or videos collected on social media.”

Not offering a contest? Simply explain in your introductory post when you launch your hashtag that, by submitting a response using the hashtag, your customer grants you permission to use their content in your marketing materials. Pictures and videos are wonderful additions to your marketing pieces, but even just a positive comment can make a nice testimonial to drop into a flyer or brochure for your TC.

Relate to consumers in real time. “Consumers flock to social networks to interact during must-see TV or live events. Armed with a hashtag and a little creativity, companies that insert themselves into these conversations can be rewarded with large audiences and viral reach.”

Most of us have seen large corporations use hashtags to encourage customer engagement during big events like the Olympics or the Super Bowl. But if you have an active social media presence and there’s a training industry-related tradeshow in your area or another event that’s important to your customer base, why not spark some conversation with a related hashtag? “Focus on events that have an obvious tie-in to your target market. Or find a clever way to insert your brand into the conversation without resorting to overt sales pitches.”

To read the entire article in Entrepreneur, click here.

Not shy about taking our own advice, we want to invite you to visit our ASHI and MEDIC First Aid Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages. Use the hashtags #ASHICPR and #MFACPR and let us know what’s on your mind! Share a Good Samaritan story, let your peers know about a great marketing campaign that helped you grow your business, or ask a question of your colleagues. You might see your response in an upcoming newsletter!

See you online.