!!! About Our Nurse Aide Training School!! 2598 Palmer Park Boulevard Colorado Springs, CO 80909

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1 !!! About Our Nurse Aide Training School!! Telephone: Web:

2 September 12, 2012 Re: Letter of Introduction for Nurse Aide Training School Dear Director of Nursing, Program Coordinator, Recruiter, and/or Hiring Manager: The purpose of this letter is to briefly introduce our organization, Avanza Training, to you. We are a nurse aide training school, who recently re-opened after a two year hiatus. Our hiatus allowed us to inject new vitality into our program and completely redesign our curriculum. We re-opened in a new, 2200 square-foot location with a new administrative staff, program coordinator, instructors, and curriculum. The organization is run by 3 co-owners; Sarah Banfield, Nina Ellis Frischmann, and Les Frischmann. Sarah ran Avanza Education for 10 years. Nina is a Curricular Designer, with an M.A. in Educational Leadership and 10 years experience. Les is a videographer and multimedia expert with 15 years experience. We attached a company packet with variety of information about our organization. We invite you to contact us to set up a meeting that will be at a time convenient for you. You may contact us via phone at or via electronic mail at support@avanzacna.com. We are looking forward to meeting with you with the purpose of discussing how we can provide our community with the highest quality nurse aides. Sincerely, Sarah Banfield, Co-Owner, Admissions and Operations Nina Ellis Frischmann, M.A. Co-Owner, Curriculum Design and Finances Les Frischmann Co-Owner, Media and Technology Encl: Company Packet Read more at Avanza Training:

3 CRITERIA Personal Care Worker (PCW) Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) Medical Assistant (MA) Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN/LVN) Registered Nurse (RN) Length of Training NA 4-6 weeks 1-3 years 1-3 years 3-5 years Approximate Cost in Colorado Springs NA $600 - $900 $10,000 - $15,000 $10,000 - $15,000 $25,000 - $35,000 State Licensing Exam NA Typical Skills Level $95 Certification Exam Includes written exam & skills demonstration through Pearson VUE $125 Certification Exam through AAMA (not required for employment) $200 State Exam NCLEX-PN Direct patient care Direct patient care Direct patient care in a assisting with personal Direct patient care, passing assisting with personal medical office; assist with hygiene, safety, oral medications; completing hygiene, nutrition, examination & lab transferring from place to treatments; advanced skills exercise, and elimination procedures and some place, nutrition, exercise, with further training needs administrative tasks and elimination needs $200 State Exam NCLEX-RN Direct patient care; passing medications; completing treatments; more advanced skills such as IV skills; IV medications Typical Hourly Wage $8 - $9 $9 - $11 $10 - $13 $15 - $17 $23 - $25 Statute Language of the Law Practices under the supervision of licensed personnel Practices under the supervision of licensed personnel Practices in a dependent role Practices under the Practices with direct or indirect supervision of the independently in the supervision and assistance physician / licensed nurse role of nurse from a RN or MD Typical Places of Employment Home Health Care, Assisted Living Hospitals, Home Health Care, Nursing Homes, Clinics, Insurance Companies, Public Schools Medical Offices and Clinics Nursing Homes, Home Health Care, Doctor s Offices, Hospitals Hospitals, Home Health Care, Nursing Homes, Clinics, Insurance Companies, Public Schools Potential for Advancement None Prerequisite for LPN/LVN; with additional training may do more advanced skills through employer With additional training may do more advanced skills under the direction of physician May work in many settings; may be a charge nurse in a nursing home or hospital; may be the Floor nurse or possibly charge Director of a Nursing nurse in long term care facility Home or Home Health Care; may need further education for higher level nursing jobs Job Outlook in Colorado Springs High High Medium Medium High

4 Your Feedback Our aim is to provide the test nurse aide training program in southern Colorado that meets the need of residents, clients, and employers. According to the Office of the Inspector General, there are several issues surrounding the training nurse aides receive based on a national survey it conducted1: 1. Nurse aide training has not kept pace with nursing home industry needs. 2. Teaching methods are often ineffective, clinical exposure is too short and unrealistic. To address these issues, we created the enclosed questionnaire based on the findings in the Office of the Inspector General s report. We would be grateful for a few minutes of your time to complete the below questionnaire. Your opinions are valuable to us and will be used to make improvements to our training program. You can send your comments back to us anonymously, if you wish. Please mail the completed Questionnaire to: Avanza Training,, 1!Janet Rehnquist, Nurse Aide Training (Office of the Inspector General: Department of Health and Human Services, 2002), i-ii.!

5 Our Program Avanza means to promote or move forward. We are a professional, educational institute using innovative techniques dedicated to preparing future Nurse Aides for success in their chosen career. We are a private school that specializes in providing the personal touch. For over ten years, we taught more than 1000 students from across the Pikes Peak region. Our reputation for excellence in providing quality NAs to long-term care facilities and home health care agencies is well-established in the community. In September 2012, we re-opened in a new, 2200 square-foot facility with a brand new administrative staff, program coordinator, and instructors. According to the 2010 United States Census, there are currently 416,427 resident in Colorado Springs. Ten percent (10%) of those residents are currently over the age of 65. In addition, there are approximately 8000 residents who have developmental disabilities. This results in approximately 48,000 residents in our area who might benefit from the assistance of nurse aides. This number will only increase as our population continues to age. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for Nurse Aides is expected to grow by twenty-eight percent (28%) between 2006 and This projected growth is much faster than the average for all occupations. We are marketing our program to a wide variety of prospective nurse aides: Parents of developmentally disabled children Family members with disabled spouses or parents Parents who want to work while their children are in school People who are unemployed New high school graduates College students who are pursuing a degree in the medical profession Any one with an interest in pursuing a career in the medical profession Some prospective students may feel intimated about finishing their training in a college environment, particularly if they have been out of the education realm for a few years. Our school offers two different tracks to better meet the needs of prospective students: daytime and a weekend/evening track. Few schools in Colorado Springs provide instruction on Saturday, but our inquiries revealed to us there is a need for Saturday classes. We believe our program fills the need of working families that need class times that coincide with the time their children are in school or their time away from their primary employment.

6 Our Curricular Design We designed our curriculum around the work of Dr. John Bransford. In the Introduction to How People Learn, he explores ways to more effectively teach. In the Introduction, he states, a new theory of learning is coming into focus that leads to very different approaches to the design of curriculum, teaching, and assessment than those often found in schools today.2 Dr. Bransford s theory of learning has four parts: Challenge, Reaction, Insight, and Action. In the Challenge phase, the educator links the content to the students preexisting knowledge. In the Reaction phase, the educator provides time for students to reflect on any assigned reading. In the Insight phase, the educator introduces new concepts to students. In the Action phase, the educator creates an activity that requires students to apply their new knowledge. This phase enables students to move their new knowledge into their long-term memory; thus enabling them to embed the new concepts into their pre-existing knowledge base. We adapted this theory into our program in the below ways: Challenge Real-world what if? scenarios our instructors give students to discuss Reaction Students review the assigned reading for their peers Insight Instructors introduce new concepts Action Students apply the new concepts with hands-on experiences, either in the laboratory setting or with real-world case studies 2!John D Bransford, Introduction in How People Learn: brain, mind, experience, and school, ed by John D Bransford (National Academy of Sciences, 2000), 3.

7 Pamela Glorie, B.S.N., R.N. Instructor L.P.N. Instructor I am from upstate New York. I worked as a nurse aide (NA) for years with developmentally challenged adults in home care. Then, I decided to go back to school for my two-year registered nurse (RN) license. I I began working in hospitals. While I worked at the hospital, I earned my B.S. in Nursing. I continued my work in home care, as well in public health for many years. When I moved to Colorado to be with my family, I returned to the hospital setting. Now, I work in rehabilitation. In addition, I taught licensed practical nurses (LPN) in southern Colorado. Nina Ellis Frischmann, Rebecca Scalph, M.A.. Curriculum Designer Co-Owner I earned two Masters of Arts degrees from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs: History and Educational Leadership. My area of expertise is in how to create new teaching techniques to meet the needs of various learning styles and intelligences. I use this expertise in college classrooms every day. In addition, I helped faculty modify their own teaching for better student outcomes at UCCS for 5 years. I am originally from California. I have lived in Colorado for 18 years. I live Colorado, but I miss the ocean. I I was a certified nursing assistant (CNA) for 12 years. I became a licensed practical nurse (LPN) for 11 years. I am working on earning my registered nurse (RN). I really like geriatrics. They also have interesting stories. I like to ask them what they used to do for a living. They lighten up and start talking about their job. Sam Stevens, R.N. Program Coordinator Sarah Banfield Admissions and Operations Co-Owner Les Frischmann Media and Technology Co-Owner I

8 Questionnaire 1. Please rate the skill level of your new nurse aides in the below areas. Transferring Skin care Feeding Hydration Dealing with behavioral difficulties Diabetes care Cancer care Communicating with residents Awareness of the aging process Managing time Managing stress Working with team members Developing appropriate relationships with residents Coping with death and dying Knowledge of medical equipment

9 2. What skills or knowledge do you wish your new nurse aides possessed? 3. How many hours of additional training do you provide new nurse aides? 4. What is included in your supplemental training? 5. How many residents do your nurse aides care for in a regular shift? 6. What characteristics do your best nurse aides have? 7. What characteristics do your worst nurse aides have? 8. Other comments or suggestions you have for our students:

10 Never Be Out of a Job Again!