News Release

Inaugural “Train the Trainer” Coaching Supervision Institute held at UNC Institute on Aging

June 19, 2008

In an effort to support both culture change initiatives and requirements for the North Carolina New Organizational Vision Awards (NCNOVA) across our state, the UNC Institute on Aging (IOA) launched a series of workshops in Spring 2008 aimed at developing trainers who are certified by the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) to deliver the Coaching Supervision Introductory curriculum to long-term care supervisors and managers in North Carolina.

Our ongoing WIN A STEP UP program delivers PHI's Coaching Supervision to between six and ten supervisors at each participating facility. The WIN A STEP UP program also delivers continuing education modules on interpersonal and clinical skills to nursing assistants in participating nursing homes in partnership with the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

Now, with the addition of the IOA "Train the Trainer" Coaching Supervision Institute, the IOA is training individuals who can serve as multipliers for the program. At the end of the training and after a preceptorship with a certified trainer, graduates of the "Train the Trainer" Coaching Supervision Institute are empowered to teach the introductory Coaching Supervision curriculum to others at long-term care organizations across the state. The Coaching Institute will increase the numbers of trainers certified to train others, thereby increasing access to training for long-term care organizations across the spectrum of community-based services to institutional services.

Allison Woodside, the WIN A STEP UP program manager and the "Train the Trainer" instructor, has implemented dozens of introductory Coaching Supervision trainings across the state. As she puts it, "It is very exciting to see the possibilities. More facilities will have access to training that helps supervisors adopt coaching techniques. It's a win-win-win: Frontline workers are empowered, supervisors are able to retain good employees and residents get consistent quality care."

Over the past three months, the inaugural class of IOA's "Train the Trainer" Coaching Supervision Institute completed 80 contact hours of training to pass along the four main coaching skills: active listening, self awareness, self management, and presenting the problem using group facilitation and adult learning techniques.

The first class of seven graduates participated in a graduation ceremony on June 12, 2008. They are pictured below with the Coaching Institute facilitators: (upper row) Terry DeRienzo-Rives (co-facilitator); Deborah Craft, RN Retired, Consultant; Judy Link, RN Assistant Director of Nursing, Rex Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center; Anne Hobgood, RN MDS Coordinator, Rex Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center; Jennifer Craft Morgan, PhD Associate Director for Research, UNC Institute on Aging; (lower row) Thumbelina Bost, RN Staff Development Coordinator, Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center; Ivy Pearson, LPN Quality Assurance Nurse, Blumenthal Jewish Nursing and Rehabiliation Center; Charles Latham, RN Consultant; Allison Woodside (lead facilitator).

"Congratulations to our seven graduates. We hope this training helps these new trainers to create a culture of retention and learning in their organizations and across the state. We know just how important supervisors are to long-term care culture change," said Bob Konrad, Director of the WIN A STEP UP program.

For more information on IOA's "Train the Trainer" Coaching Supervision Institute or the WIN A STEP UP program, call the Program Manager, Allison Woodside at 919-966-0494.