Sustaining Training

You might say that Norco Virtual University was born of frustration. The Web-based training tool is used by Norco, a Boise, Idaho-based home medical equipment provider, to keep its employees updated on new rules and regulations.

But before the Web site was devised eight years ago, Norco, whose roots reach back to the 1940s and which has three other strongly regulated divisions — welding, safety and calibration gas — was struggling to keep hundreds of employees in diverse locations up to speed with ever-changing regulations. There were also problems with continuity of training and keeping track of who was trained in what procedure.

“We had an overwhelming training need. We couldn't keep up with training our drivers, keep up with OSHA and all the regulatory and accreditation needs. We needed a tool to train our people effectively, so we looked at an online solution,” says CEO Jim Kissler.

The company teamed up with two respiratory therapists who were doing Internet work and created a Web site that offered up-to-date information, says Robbie Roberts, RT, Norco's compliance officer.

“We initially designed it so that it would be information [employees] could use to understand and do their jobs,” says Roberts. “On a couple of occasions, we put together a series of courses for medical billers and managers, and they received a special certificate.”

Managers were required to complete the series as part of their bonus, Roberts says. Medical billers were rated in several areas, and that influenced their compensation as well.

The training was successful, so Norco kept adding courses to the site. Within a few years, it had attracted the attention of buying group VGM, Waterloo, Iowa.

“Basically, we decided to partner with Norco when we needed to provide an avenue for our members to have online education,” says Sara Bauer, VGM's director of education. “We knew Norco was providing that to their employees, and they were doing it quite well.”

“We were able to brand some screens for [VGM]. They used Norco courses and developed some of their own,” says Roberts.

The two organizations now share courses and collaborate from time to time, Bauer says. “We use some of their accident courses that they have written with their expertise, and they have used some of our courses, like our [human resources] course,” she says. “It's been a very beneficial relationship.”