Koinonia Homes to Use College of Direct Support Curriculum and Elsevier Performance Manager Tools

ATLANTA, November 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The College of Direct Support (CDS), an internet-based curriculum for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) managed in partnership by Elsevier / MC Strategies and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center, announced that Koinonia Homes Inc. will use the CDS's online curriculum and Elsevier Performance Manager (EPM) for staff training, development, and performance management. Koinonia is a private provider of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, providing long-term care services to individuals living in 21 group homes, 51 supported living sites and three host homes. In addition to residential services, The Center at Koinonia serves day support, vocational, and career needs. 

"We are very excited about offering this curriculum to our DSPs and giving them the tools and experience they need to provide quality supports to the individuals we serve," said Jason Umstot, Vice President of Programs and Organizational Learning at Koinonia. "We believe that by utilizing CDS in a blended approach with our classroom and compliance training that some of our classroom training will be reduced and our staff will have a more hands-on, visual learning experience without compromising the lesson objectives."

Koinonia will utilize all of the tools offered by the Core Performance configuration of EPM to track training and manage performance at Koinonia. Elsevier Performance Manager is an easy-to-use, online learning and performance management solution offering tools to streamline communication, as well as identify, track, and resolve issues with staff education, performance, and competency. The tools can help staff improve day-to-day tasks, help optimize safety, and encourage innovation and collaboration. EPM offers enhanced performance assessment and tracking, goal management, record keeping, and reporting features. It standardizes competencies allowing an agency to conduct peer reviews, and establish development action plans for career growth and personal improvement.

"Koinonia was looking for a web-based evaluation and tracking system to use along with its training, and they found that Elsevier's solutions matched its needs at a reasonable cost," said Jim Hicks, Senior Vice President, CDS. "Most everything Koinonia does involves technology, so having a single solution for its education and performance tracking made a lot of sense to them."

Koinonia will be using the CDS curriculum for its compliance training, new employee orientation process, and as an additional resource to educate staff. Koinonia intends to use all of the tools within the EPM's Core Performance configuration to track and improve staff performance and augment communications in its move toward implementing a career lattice.

About Koinonia

Koinonia is the largest private provider of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Cuyahoga County and employs a staff of over 500 people. Long-term care services are provided to individuals living in 21 group homes (24/7 care); 51 supported living sites; and 3 Host Homes. In addition to residential services, The Center at Koinonia serves day support, vocational and career needs. Total enrollment in both Koinonia's residential, day, vocational and career programs is 424 participants. Koinonia enriches lives through superior care and extensive programming, responsive to each person's needs.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Tom Reller
Vice President, Global Corporate Relations, Elsevier
+1-215-239-3508
T.Reller@Elsevier.com