Mercer University’s College of Continuing and Professional Studies has developed a Certificate in Health Coaching and Multidisciplinary Care Coordination for Piedmont Healthcare and will begin teaching the first class in the program today. The program is designed to train the coaches to help identify and work with patients suffering from a number of chronic conditions, helping them to lead healthier, longer lives while avoiding hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
More than 30 nurses and medical assistants from Piedmont Heart Institute and Piedmont Physicians Group will begin a five-month series of classes today. The training launches on Piedmont Atlanta Hospital’s Atlanta campus in Classroom 8 of the 77 Building at 9 a.m. The modules in the program will be led by faculty from the College’s Department of Counseling and Human Sciences, as well as Piedmont experts. The certificate was designed in conjunction with Piedmont executives and facilitated by the Center for Health and Learning, a partnership between Piedmont and Mercer.
“We thought that offering certifications would be a good way to add the skill sets that are required for a new care model,” said Dr. James Sams, chief medical officer of Piedmont’s South Region. “We’re transitioning from a volume-based care model to a value-based care model. Well-trained health coaches will be critical team members if we are going to deliver better care at a lower cost."
In the certificate program, the students will learn to assess data and locate at-risk patients with chronic conditions, help them navigate their care and find ways to motivate them to take an active role in their own care.
“We’re always looking for ways to help improve patient outcomes,” said Myra Miller, vice president and chief operating officer of Piedmont Medical Care Corporation, the parent company of Piedmont Physicians Group. “This certificate will not only teach the coaches to take a more proactive approach in addressing patient care but will improve patient care as the coaches learn how best to collaborate with the clinical team to address patients’ needs.”
The program will include registered nurses, licensed professional nurses and medical assistants from Piedmont locations in metro Atlanta and consists of 10 in-person and online training modules. The modules include: introduction to health coaching, roles of the health coach, evidence-based practice and standards of care, working with patients, principles of active listening, tapping into the patient’s learning style and facilitating behavior change, personalized health planning, goal setting and coaching strategies and techniques: self-management support, multicultural perspectives in health coaching and management of information.
“We designed this program with Piedmont to integrate our expertise within Department of Counseling and Human Sciences with those of subject matter experts from within Piedmont,” said Dr. Kevin Freeman, assistant professor of counseling and human sciences, one of the certificate’s designers. “We will provide the counseling skills necessary to enhance patient motivation and skills in striving for optimal levels of health and wellness, while Piedmont’s experts will provide the evidence-based standards of care that Piedmont has adopted.”
This article was provided by the university.