Parent company Nurse.com acquires leader in non-medical home care education

In line with the corporate’s development strategy, Learning on the coursethe parent company of Nurse.com, announced the acquisition of the corporate Vocational Care Education Institute, a pacesetter in training and compliance solutions for assisted living communities, home care providers and residential health agencies. “As a leading training provider for non-medical home care and assisted living caregivers, IPCed is a welcome addition to our family,” said Patrick Sheahan, president and CEO of OnCourse Learning. “This acquisition allows us to build on our strong foundation in health education, expanding our content catalog to meet the training needs of professionals across the industry in both acute and post-acute care settings.” Headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, IPCed was founded in 2003 and has experienced rapid growth, including the acquisition of Medifecta Healthcare Training in 2012 and Care and Compliance Group in 2014. With 50 employees, IPCed offers online training for among the fastest-growing professions within the country, including nursing home administrators and staff, in addition to direct care staff across the senior living and post-acute industries. OnCourse Learning is the nation’s leading provider of online training for registered nurses through Nurse.com, a preferred hub for nursing news, jobs and academic content, and CE Direct, the corporate’s market-leading product platform for hospitals and health systems. “I have always been passionate about education,” said Sharon K. Brothers, CEO and co-founder of IPCed. “The positive results that come with quality education are clearly visible. IPCed courses are designed to get people so interested in the training that they will come back and take more courses without requiring a mandate. OnCourse Learning’s focus on content and technology platform will enable us to improve the quality and delivery of our courses and modernize the user experience. Founded in 2007, OnCourse Learning provides workforce solutions and job training to the healthcare, financial services and real estate industries. Each year, the company offers 30,000 hours of content to 500,000 students. IPCed represents third acquisition for OnCourse Learning has been working in the healthcare training industry since entering the rapidly growing industry with the purchase of Gannett Healthcare Group (Nurse.com) in 2014. Brothers and her husband previously owned nursing homes in Oregon and California. They recognized the need for every employee on every shift to receive the same level of training. This need sparked the creation of their company, first known as EasyECU Inc., which initially focused on leadership training and then moved into direct care providers. “If you want to make change, start with the leaders,” Brothers said. “I know from my own experience that there are many people who have found their niche as direct care workers. It doesn’t stop their career. They can continue to develop their skills, knowledge and experience.” “Sharon’s thirty years of industry experience and knowledge have made her a passionate thought leader,” said Sheahan. “IPCed’s goals align well with OnCourse Learning, and we look forward to helping providers across the country improve patient care through training and education.” IPCed, which can proceed to operate from its headquarters in Vancouver, Washington, offers a variety of specialist certifications for caregivers, including dementia care, Parkinson’s disease care, end-of-life care and diabetes care. The company also offers training materials, comparable to DVDs and care checklists, for members of the family caring for family members. OnCourse Learning employs greater than 300 people nationwide, including at its headquarters in Wisconsin and offices in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Atlanta and Hunt Valley, Maryland. OnCourse Learning to CIP capital portfolio company. To comment, please write an email [email protected].