BrightStar Care and Chamberlain University Partner to Launch a Home Health Initiative

Home health initiative

Chamberlain has formed a partnership with BrightStar Care to develop an online didactic course, Introduction to Continuing Health (ICH), to be used in Chamberlain’s nursing programs. Students who complete and pass the course, which is offered at no additional cost and funded by BrightStar Care, have the option to spend 96 hours of clinical time at BrightStar Care and other home health partners. The BrightStar Care partnership will continue as Chamberlain pilots the course’s use throughout various campuses when it expands.

As the nation faces a nursing shortage, this home health initiative is focused on providing ?pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing students an overview of home health nursing care. Students will gain knowledge about the specialty based on the fundamentals of a generalist education, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing essentials, and Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies.

“Nurses are vital contributors to the health and well-being of our communities and providing nursing students broader access and exposure to home health and other specialties will strengthen the pipeline of prepared nurses in critical need areas that they enjoy,” said Karen Cox, PhD, RN, FACHE, FAAN, president, Chamberlain University. “As we build upon the momentum of the Practice Ready. Specialty Focused™ model, our clinical partnership with BrightStar Care allows us to make a larger impact on home health.”

Industry trends and data

BrightStar Care echoes the sentiment that the consumer demand for home care services is on the rise. In fact, BrightStar Care belongs to a home care advocacy coalition that conducted a study to demonstrate this trend. The study found that 73% of adults support receiving care in their homes and are confident in the quality of care they receive in the home.

Additionally, BrightStar Care also recently released data from a Medicare Advantage (MA) study it commissioned which demonstrates the crucial role home care has on the healthcare ecosystem. Chamberlain’s home health initiative aims to demonstrate that nurses will enter their careers more prepared when they can assess the best “fit” for their initial area of practice and receive focused training and clinical experience in that specialty.

Addressing workforce shortage

To address the home health professional shortage, Chamberlain will increase awareness of the specialty and actively engage students to encourage those who are strong candidates to apply. The home health specialty, which is designed to be taken concurrently with Chamberlain’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program, leads to a badge upon successful completion and assessment of competencies. Those who earn the badge will be eligible to be considered for a concentrated clinical rotation in home health.

“With our focus on home health, we are delighted to work with Chamberlain on this new nursing education program so we can increase the number of qualified home health care nurses who practice evidence-based care,” said Founder and CEO of BrightStar Care, Shelly Sun. “We believe strongly in Chamberlain’s pilot to create a successful pathway for nursing students to learn this specialty and make an impact on the future of nursing.”

Chamberlain will evaluate the program after the pilot concludes in 2025 and create a publicly available playbook documenting the model. It will be shared with American Nurses Foundation and other nursing schools to enable them to replicate the approach.

“The Reimagining Nursing Initiative provides the solid investments nurses need to transform the education, regulation and practice of nursing,” said American Nurses Foundation Executive Director Kate Judge. “Nurses are a natural catalytic force for accelerating the evolution of our health system because they have an unmatched perspective on prevention, wellness and delivery of healthcare services.”

The Reimagining Nursing Initiative is made possible through the generous support of the Kaiser Permanente National Community Benefit Fund at East Bay Community Foundation, AMN Healthcare, Omnicell, and the Salka Impact Fund.