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.
Fall 2025 Training Classes
Engagement in Recreation & Leisure is an important component in striving for both good physical and mental wellness. This course will outline valuable information about assessing, delivering and supporting independent leisure pursuits, using person-centered care in a personal care home. Participants will be given an opportunity to examine their own leisure lifestyle, and it benefits their wellbeing to gain an understanding of the importance in supporting those individuals living in personal care homes. The focus will be on using a person-centered approach to assessment in service delivery that is responsive to the preferences, needs, and values of residents. Please register for only one session.
Diabetes, stroke, heart attack, and choking are just some of the common medical diagnoses direct caregivers must deal with in a PCH environment. This course will focus on the fundamentals of providing aid to residents who may experience an emergency complication with these all too common health issues. FREE statewide training for Personal Care Home staff and administrators and staff licensed agencies. 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.
Overview of the various types of dementia: Signs and symptoms and prevention and treatment. Focus on pharmacotherapy including medications used to treat dementia as well as medications to avoid in the elderly and how to recognize unwanted medication effects (side effects, drug interactions, etc). Please register for only one session.
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.
This course will provide an understanding of mental health. We will look at different mental health diagnoses, symptoms and types of treatment as well as what we can provide at our facilities that will help address some of these concerns, including what we can add to a Resident’s Support Plans related to mental health needs. Case scenarios will allow the participant to build skills to identify red flags and develop interventions that will prevent potentially unsafe behaviors from occurring. Please register for only one session.
This course will help you to better understand the profound impact that music has on individuals with dementia, from early stages to late stages of the disease, as well as how to develop a personalized music program for a person with the disease. Please register for only one session.
This course provides an overview of OSHA standards applicable to the healthcare industry. The focus will be on standards pertinent to personal care home workplaces. Participants will explore applicable OSHA standards, injury and illness recordkeeping and available resources to advance occupational safety and health efforts within their respective personal care home environments. Through interactive discussion, participants will be able to assess workplace conditions and implement prioritized interventions and mitigations to protect healthcare workers. 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.
View the Fall 2025 class schedule.
Download mail-in registration form.
Email Healthcare Education with questions.
