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Board directs staff to study outsourcing nurse support‑group management after vendor briefing
Summary
After a presentation from Birchwood Solutions on managing nurse support groups, the board asked staff to investigate feasibility and report back. Birchwood described online, facilitated support groups with facilitator vetting, data auditing, participant payment options and financial assistance.
The Board of Registered Nursing heard a presentation May 29 from Birchwood Solutions outlining a turnkey model for managing nurse support groups and voted to ask staff to study the feasibility and sustainability of outsourcing support‑group management and to bring a proposal to the committee.
Birchwood told the board it has provided outsourced, professionally facilitated online support groups to alternative‑to‑discipline programs since 2011. The company said its model includes facilitator vetting and training, written facilitator standards, standardized group reporting and auditing, secure HIPAA‑compliant meeting platforms and a participant financial assistance program the vendor funds itself.
Presenter Elizabeth Temple said online groups improved accessibility and attendance in programs Birchwood serves. She described participant survey results showing participants rated online groups “convenient” and “valuable” for program completion; Birchwood said its data showed improved attendance compliance after switching more groups online. Temple said Birchwood generally assigns no more than 10 participants to a primary support group and maintains two “flex” seats for make‑ups.
The vendor proposed a two‑year implementation in which Birchwood would tailor facilitator and participant handbooks, vet facilitators (including professional development plans and annual evaluations), run facilitator training, provide secure group technology, audit attendance logs and automate reporting to case managers. Birchwood said participants typically pay a modest fee (examples cited: $125/month, $360/quarter, $1,400/year), but the vendor also maintains a financial assistance program it funds and said it has never turned away a participant who could not afford the fee.
Several participants who spoke during public comment expressed concerns about cost, group structure, facilitator rules (some worried limits on “complaining about the program” could reduce a safe forum) and the loss of in‑person groups. Board members responded that a formal procurement process would be required if the board chose to contract for these services.
The committee chair asked staff to investigate availability and sustainability and report back. The item was informational, but the board voted to direct staff to study the approach and return with a proposal at the next committee meeting.
Votes at a glance: The board voted (unanimous) to direct staff to investigate outsourcing support‑group management and to return a proposal: Chair Trisha Wynne (yes), President Dolores Trujillo (yes), Vice President Nilu Patel (yes), Board member Jovita Dominguez (yes), Board member David Lawler (yes), Board member Vicky Granowitz (yes), Board member Allison Cormack (yes).
