The Backbone of Community Health in Cuyahoga County
Founded in 1837, The MetroHealth System provides quality healthcare for all in their region, irrespective of their income level. With a strong focus on preventive health, as well as external factors that influence health outcomes such as affordable housing and fresh food access, it provides a comprehensive wellness service for more than 300,000 patients, promoting a mission of “Hope, Health, and Humanity” across a system of hospitals and medical centers in Cleveland, Ohio and Cuyahoga County.
The Challenges
Providing Quality Professional Development with Limited Resources
More than 600 doctors and 1,700 nurses work tirelessly to support MetroHealth’s large patient base. Given the size of this medical team and the regulatory and training requirements inherent to the healthcare industry, a comprehensive professional development program is essential. However, funding it—while ensuring that patient care remains affordable—is an ongoing challenge.
Spearheading this effort is Lynnae Lockett, the director of the Medical Assisting Training Program at MetroHealth. Given the stringent and standardized requirements for healthcare accreditation and training, she manages the production of all course and training materials closely to ensure compliance. As a part of this role, she also oversees the budget and implementation of learning technologies.
Lockett reviewed the market to find a learning management system (LMS) that was in line with her needs. “Economic considerations were crucial when we ventured into the market,” she explained. “We tried free alternatives, such as Moodle and Canvas, but found that the disconnect between course materials and the gradebook was causing frustration for both instructors and learners.”
The Solutions
A Move to Blackboard Learn Ultra
Having used Blackboard® Learn Ultra previously, Lockett knew that it offered a more comprehensive offering than the other alternatives she’d tried. “With Blackboard [Learn], it’s everything in one spot,” she said. “It's the convenience of it for instructors and learners, because everything is right there. There's the capability to message your coursemates directly from the learning environment, instead of needing to go to [Microsoft] Outlook and create an email.”
With Blackboard [Learn], it’s everything in one spot. It’s the convenience of it for instructors and learners, because everything is right there.
Lynnae Lockett, Director of the Medical Assisting Training Program, MetroHealth
Two features in particular convinced her that Blackboard Learn Ultra was a great fit for MetroHealth. The first was the gradebook, which automatically syncs with all assessment tasks to provide a streamlined experience for learners and instructors alike. This has been recently advanced with the launch of Flexible Grading, providing instructors with more insightful and efficient grading workflows. “There's analytics that you can look at to see how learners are progressing, which is nice, and I like the color-coded grades as well, as it makes it easy to quickly understand learner performance,” Lockett said.
The second was the seamless integration of publisher content. “For healthcare, there's so many different things with books that you need to utilize,” Lockett explained. “It's not just doing quizzes and exams and things like that. It’s linking videos and simulations, for example, and other tasks that are specific to the profession.” By providing integration with external publishers and hundreds of learning tools, Blackboard Learn Ultra provides a flexible learning environment that can be tailored to the needs of all industries and study areas.
When combined, these features allow for a simpler and more effective user experience. “With Canvas, even just using the gradebook could be very confusing. Blackboard Learn, on the other hand, has a broad range of capabilities that really cater to our needs,” said Lockett.
Insights Delivered
An Improved User Experience = Better Learning Outcomes
Learners are the ultimate beneficiaries of MetroHealth’s move to Blackboard Learn Ultra. The increased efficiency of the learning workflows has not just improved their grades in the courses, but also helped them prioritize tasks and balance training responsibilities with their day jobs.
“Grades wise, I’ve seen improvement,” Lockett was pleased to report. “Learners are no longer frustrated; they can easily access what they need and get notifications when things are due to keep them on track. This has helped them a lot to focus on completing their assignments, as they are no longer dealing with confusion caused by the learning platform.”
Learners are no longer frustrated; they can easily access what they need and get notifications when things are due to keep them on track.
Lynnae Lockett, Director of the Medical Assisting Training Program, MetroHealth
Epilogue
Having observed this uplift in learner outcomes, Lockett’s advice for anyone considering Blackboard Learn Ultra is just two words: “Do it!”
Thanks very much to Lynnae Lockett from MetroHealth for sharing her experience with us. If you’re looking for an LMS that caters to your needs, access a FREE 30-day trial of Blackboard Learn Ultra today!
Organization Type: Integrated Health System
Locations: 24 Locations throughout Cleveland, Ohio
