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OHCC Certification Courses

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OHCC certifications

Certifications offered by the Oregon Home Care Commission (OHCC) are for workers who choose to develop a wider variety of skills throughout their career.

​The Oregon Home Care Commission (OHCC) will cover the cost of CPR and First Aid training for eligible Homecare and Personal Support Workers who: 

  • Have an active provider number,
  • Have completed two OHCC training ​classes (not including orientation and eXPRS training), or four OHCC classes for re-certifications,

Requests for CPR and First Aid training must be submitted in writing to the OHCC, and prior approval is required. OHCC will not reimburse providers who pay out-of-pocket for training. 

To request the training

  • CPR / First Aid Certification Request (initial or renewal)​
  • Complete a CPR and First Aid training request form at any of the OHCC training classes, or
  • Submit a request form or written request including name, address, county, phone number and provider number by one of the following:

CPR/First Aid Certification Differential FAQs 

​The Oregon Home Care Commission recognizes homecare workers and personal support workers who are life-long learners and want to continue developing their skills through the Professional Develo​pment Certification program​.​​

Gain knowledge and stay current on skills that you can apply immediately to your work.

  • SB15​3​4​ (mandatory training) requirements are met once you have your PDC.
  • Best of all, the courses are free, you may qualify for a stipend and you will get a pay differential too!
  • A PDC meets the pre-requisite requirements for the Enhanced Certification and the Community Health Worker Certification.​

PDC scheduled courses are always listed in the Elevate N​​ewsletter.​​ 

​Professional Devel​opment Broc​hure​​

​Professional Deve​lopment Certification Course Description

​The 2013-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Oregon Home Care Commission (OHCC) and SEIU provided two new worker classifications with increased service payment rates. The two new worker classifications are Enhanced homecare and personal support workers and Exceptional personal support worker​.

  • Earn the Enhanced Certification with your peers; share life experiences while learning new techniques and skills
  • SB1​534​ (mandatory training) requirements are met once you have your Enhanced Certification
  • Pay differential is $1.00 above base - rate of pay for consumer/employers who are pre-approved for the enhanced services
  • The Enhanced Certification is a pre-requisite for the Exceptional Certification

​Enhanced Certification scheduled courses are always listed in the Elevate New​sle​tter.​

Homecare workers who provide services and supports to individuals who experience quadriplegia and are dependent on a ventilator have the opportunity to earn their VDQ certification and a higher pay rate. ​VDQ certification training is now available, and homecare workers are encouraged to enroll.

  • This certification is designed for homecare workers who provide services and supports to con​sumer-employers experiencing quadriplegia and are dependent on a ventilator.
  • The VDQ certification was established through the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Oregon Home Care Commission and SEIU, 503. 
  • Homecare workers who successfully earn the VDQ certification are eligible to receive a $3.00 per hour differential while providing services and supports to eligible consumer-employers.​

Training cou​rses

  • Workers must have access to a computer and internet service.
  • Workers will receive 49 hours of training. There are seven modules and each module is seven hours long.
  • During the COVID pandemic, seven hours of training will be offered per week (two 3.5-hour sessions).
  • Training is offered via online webinars until physical distancing restrictions are lifted. In the future, training will be a blended model that includes self-paced online modules.
  • Topics are designed to help homecare workers develop a basic understanding of quadriplegia with ventilator dependency and how to safely provide services and supports.
  • Training is offered in cohorts, which means the students will go through the entire training together.

See the Elevate Ne​w​sletter for a list of sessions

Quest​​ion​​s?​
If you have questions, please reach out to the Oregon Home Care Commission by calling 877-867-0077 or emailing certifications.ohcc@odhsoh​a​.oregon.gov​

What is a Community Health Worker?

A Community Health Worker (CHW) is one of five types of Traditio​nal Health Workers (THW).

  • Community Health Workers. Assist individuals and their community to achieve positive health outcomes
  • Personal Health Navigators. Assist individuals to achieve positive health outcomes​
  • Peer Support Specialists. Focus on recovery from addiction/mental health conditions
  • ​Peer Wellness Specialists. Focus on recovery from addiction/mental health and physical conditions
  • ​Birth Doulas. Assist women with pre-natal care

​ Learn more about Traditional Health Wo​rkers​​​

​​What does a Community Health Worker do?

  • Certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) help people adopt healthy behaviors and navigate the health system.
  • CHWs usually share ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, or life experience with those they serve.
  • CHWs work for their local hospitals and clinics or Coordinated Care Organization to deliver culturally appropriate health education.
  • CHWs promote, maintain, and improve individual and community health.  
  • CHWs may provide information on available resources,
    • connect people to social supports,
    • provide informal counseling,
    • advocate for individual and community health needs,
    • and provide services such as blood pressure screening or other health prevention screenings.

Where do CHWs typically work?

Unlike HCW and PSW, CHWs are employed by:

  • Patient-Center Primary Care Home,
  • Hospital or clinics
  • County medical services
  • Coordinated Care Organization,
  • Community-based organization
CHWs are responsible for exploring and securing their own employment opportunities. We estimate the salary range to be between $15 to $21 per hour.​​​​

How to become a CHW​

Are you​​​​ an active Homecare or Pe​​rsonal Support Worker? If so, you may be eligible to take the free OHCC 96-hour Community Health Worker training.

To become a ​​CHW:

Training will cover:

  • Motivational interviewing
  • Communication
  • Oral and self-care
  • ​Nutrition
  • Many other topics are covered in this 96-hour training
Contact us to lear​n more​

To learn about our next CHW certification schedule in your area, contact us at ohcc.chw@odhsoha​.oregon.gov​ or call 877-880-8071, option 1.

Who is a Traditional Health Worker?

Traditional Health Worker (THW) is an umbrella term for frontline public health workers who work in a community or clinic under the direction of a licensed health provider. There are five specialty types of THWs:

  • Birth Doulas. Assist women and their family with pre-natal, childbirth and post-partum care.
  • Community Health Workers (CHW).  Assist individuals and their community to achieve positive health outcomes.
  • Personal Health Navigators (PHN). Provides information, assistance, tools and support to enable a patient to make the best health care decisions.
  • Peer Support Specialists (PSS). Focus on recovery from addiction/mental health conditions.
  • Peer Wellness Specialists (PWS). Focus on recovery from addiction/mental health and physical conditions.​

Within the Peer Support Specialists and Peer Wellness Specialists category there are two additional sub-categories.

Family Support Specialist means an individual who meets qualification criteria adopted under ORS 414.665 and may be either a peer support specialist or a peer wellness specialist who, ​based on similar life experiences, provides support services to and has experience parenting a child who:

  • Is a current or former consumer of mental health or addiction treatment; or
  • Is facing or has faced difficulties in accessing education, health, and wellness services due to mental health or behavioral health barriers.

Youth Support Specialist means an individual who meets qualification criteria adopted under ORS 414.665 and may be either a peer support specialist or a peer wellness specialist and who, based on a similar life experience, provides supportive services to an individual who:

  • Is not older than 30 years old and
  • Is a current or former consumer of mental health or addiction treatment; or
  • Is facing or has faced difficulties in accessing education, health, and wellness services due to mental health or behavioral health barriers.

​​Certification agencies​

Contact Information
Email ohcc.chw@odhso​ha.oregon.gov​
Phone: ​877-880-8071, option 1​​

​Oregon Intervention System (OIS) is Oregon's system of training and implementing the principles of Positive Behavior Support and Intervention for people who support adults and children with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities who may display challenging behaviors.

The OIS-General course is offered for Personal Support Workers who provide in-home supports through the Oregon Home Care Commission. We contract with OIS Instructors certified through ASI Oregon to provide this training.

The Oregon Home Care Commission offers OIS-G Training for Personal Support Workers in two ways.

The Oregon Home Care Commission offers OIS-G Training at no cost for Personal Support Workers who

  • Have an active PSW Provider Number or can show proof of approved, paid employment through a Community Developmental Disability Program (CDDP), Children's Intensive In-Home Services (CIIS), or Brokerage.
  • Can show proof of paid hours as a PSW in one of three full calendar months prior to submitting the request form.
  • Have completed at least two Oregon Home Care Commission training classes (except MoneyWise and Challenging Behaviors).

​After submitting an OIS-G Trainin​g Request Form, you will be contacted to register for an OIS-G Training.

​This two-day training is provided at no cost to Personal Support Workers who meet the criteria. A training stipend is not provided.

Or

Exceptional Personal Support Worker Certificate Program
OIS-G is a required component of the Exceptional Personal Support Worker Certificate Program. PSWs enrolled in the Exceptional PSW Certificate Program who do not have ​an OIS-G Certificate will be enrolled in an OHCC OIS-G course. 

​Find more information on the Exceptional PSW Certificate Pro​gram​​.