Schowalter Villa, of Bluestem Communities, has demonstrated their commitment to worker safety through participating in the OSHA Susan Harwood grant-funded Long-Term Care Resident to Staff Aggression: Prevention and Response Training. Schowalter Villa had 90 team members that attended the training. Those trained included people in leadership roles and direct care workers.
“We are thrilled to see organizations from Kansas committed to bringing their employees training on this important but often undiscussed topic. 99% of those in the training had experienced resident aggression but few had received training prior to this grant. The homes that took part in the project should be commended for their participation and desire to equip their employees with the tools they need to safely and effectively respond to challenging situations,” said Stephanie Gfeller, the Director of Special Projects for LeadingAge Kansas and the coordinator of the grant project.
As part of an effort to strengthen and support the long-term care workforce, the training was developed and presented by the LeadingAge Kansas Foundation. Trainees learned to identify signs of escalation and aggression, strategies for de-escalation, and tools for communicating safety concerns. Training offerings began in March of 2021 and concluded in September of 2022. A total of eleven training sessions took place with 470 Kansas long-term care workers receiving the training.
Gfeller shared, “The project team worked to create a training that would provide attendees with knowledge and tools they could begin using immediately. Training data shows participants learned and developed confidence in handling these situations.”
The LeadingAge Kansas Foundation has received another OSHA Susan Harwood training grant to provide this training to more long-term care workers in 2023.
The LeadingAge Kansas Foundation Long-Term Care Resident to Staff Aggression: Prevention and Response Training, at the time of initial publication of this document (09/2022), is funded by a grant of $110,895 federal funds, which constitutes 100% percent of the program budget. None of the training program is financed through non-governmental sources.
