Personal Care Home Continuing Education
Northampton Community College is conducting free statewide training for Personal Care Home staff and administrators and staff licensed agencies serving individuals with intellectual disabilities. The training is funded by the Department of Human Services Bureau of Human Services Licensing and each continuing education class is equal to three (3) annual training hours, unless otherwise noted. Participation is limited to staff persons working in Pennsylvania’s licensed personal care homes, assisted living residences, community homes for individuals with intellectual disabilities, family living homes, adult training facilities and vocational facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. For questions, please email healthcare@northampton.edu.
Spring 2025 Classes
This course provides education for personal care home staff on the prevention, identification, and care strategies for residents with delirium, dementia, and depression. It will provide tools that can be used in the personal care home setting, and focus will be on the assessment of cognitive issues in adults with delirium, depression, and dementia including Alzheimer’s disease.
This course will focus on best practices pertaining to medication accountability and security requirements. A review of security requirements will allow participants to identify areas of risk and the ability to follow best practice guidelines for medication safety compliance in their facility. Please register for only one session.
This course will be offered to personal care home staff as an update and review of the care of residents with diabetes, as required by 2600.190b., and provided by a Certified Diabetic Educator. It will include diabetes updates; care and treatment options for residents with diabetes; instruction on the proper techniques for administering insulin and GLP1 agonist techniques, and oral medications; instructions for recognizing signs and symptoms, and corrective actions for, hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Prior experience administering oral medications and insulin in a personal care home setting within the last year is required. To request a training class, please email
pcerando@northampton.edu.
This training will pull from elements of the entry-level training, “Creating Inclusive Communities for LGBTQ+ Older Adults” to set a foundation for practitioners on the needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in personal care home settings. While these trainings will provide information across the timeline, attention will be paid to generational differences centering on older adults. This training will also include best practices around cultural competency and a person-centered approach to care for the population. Next, practitioners will receive a deeper look at the experiences of Transgender care recipients through elements from our training entitled “Transgender Aging”. This will include discussions around the different types of transitioning and how they may manifest in care settings. This will also include scenarios centered around common assumptions and issues that arise, and how to address them. Finally, practitioners will focus on bullying in congregate care settings. This will include definitions of bullying, how they manifest particularly for LGBTQ+ people, and how staff members and practitioners can address these issues in the moment as well as through follow-up. Particular attention will be paid to why bullying situations can be complicated among care recipients as they may have mental or physical comorbidities that affect how they show up in social situations. All training components include video interviews with constituents from various SAGE programs, case studies, and scenarios that reflect experience in the field from licensed professionals. Please register for only one session.
Students will learn the fundamentals of infection control, with a focus on the personal care facility resident. Content includes transmission of infections and blood borne pathogens, role of immunizations, and practices to keep residents and staff safe. Please register for only one session.
In this course, participants develop an understanding of how to identify cognitive issues and practical use of intervention strategies when caring for residents with depression, delirium, and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
This course is designed to inform the participant how to recognize potentially aggressive or violent situations as it relates to the personal care home environment. Methods to verbally mediate or diffuse aggressive behaviors will be discussed and explored. Emphasis will be focused on avoidance of physical restraint or touching of individuals involved. Employee safety will be discussed within a challenging environment of regulatory responsibilities that can include self-defense options and interaction with local law enforcement, PA Department of Human Services, and OSHA. Recognizing that each facility and circumstances have unique challenges, this course will provide a variety of methods to consider and employ in order to achieve the desired outcome for all stakeholders. Please register for only one session.
This course will provide education to increase awareness about different types of reporting situations experienced at Personal Care Homes, including but not limited to abuse. A discussion of how healthcare professionals in different roles might become aware of these types of situations, and what next steps are in reporting suspected abuse for any healthcare professional. Please register for only one session.
Risk Management is a logical and systematic method of identifying, analyzing, remediating and monitoring the risks involved in any activity or process. In accordance with this method, this course will provide personal care home workers broad awareness on recognizing risks and subsequent hazards as it relates to their workplace. It will further provide an orientation and expansion of information as it relates site environmental safety and health. Participants will be made aware of the advantages associated with the process of risk management and associated loss control methods along with the implementation of prioritized interventions and mitigations. Please register for only one session.
Participants will learn the fundamentals of aging in regards to activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), common medical emergencies, and vital sign guidelines for residents in the personal care setting. The course will also include principles on navigating through these fundamentals with respect and dignity towards the aging individual. Please register for only one session.
This course will provide information on responding to allegations of resident abuse, neglect or exploitation. Principles of care are integrated with day to day tasks of the supervisor and direct care staff persons in a personal care home setting. Case studies will be provided to practice the identification and completion of reporting requirements. Please register for only one session.
This course provides education for the personal care home administrator on identifying areas for improvement, being informed of regulatory requirements that impact quality of care, assessing outcomes, and writing policy procedures that can be monitored and measured for accurate implementation. Please register for only one session.
This course will provide an overview of gerontology needs and various issues related to aging including, but not limited to: aging in place, suicide, substance abuse, sexual behavior, death and dying, end of life issues, psychosocial and special needs, and accommodations. Please register for only one session.
