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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.

OHCC covers the cost of CPR and First Aid certification training for eligible Homecare Workers, Personal Support Workers and Personal Care Attendants. A CPR/First Aid certification with a demonstration of skills is required for all certifications earned through OHCC.​

New and renewal certificates

  • ​You must have an active provider number.
  • OHCC will cover the cost of training every two years.
  • Renewals need to be done within three months of your certification expiring.

How to request training

  • Register for in-person or virtual CPR/First Aid courses through PA​CE, which is OHCC's learning management system.​;
  • After you complete the training, upload your certification to your PACE account.

​Go to PACE website

How to upload your card to PACE

CPR/First Aid differential FAQ

​​CPR/First Aid policy

Questions? 
If you have questions, please reach out to the Oregon Home Care Commission by calling 877-867-0077 or emailing cpr.firstaid@odhsoha.oregon.gov  ​

​The Professional Development Certification (PDC) is available to homecare workers, personal support workers and personal care attendants. See details about the PDC on the Professional Development Certification Brochure Link below:​​

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

​Professional Devel​opment Certification​ Broc​hure​​

​Professional Deve​lopment Certification Course Description

Questions? 
If you have questions, please reach out to the Oregon Home Care Commission by calling 877-867-0077 or emailing certifications.ohcc@odhsoha.oregon.gov

The Enhanced Certification program is offered to homecare and personal support workers who have completed the Professional Development Certification or have successfully completed the Readiness Assessment. The program includes:

  • 24-hours of ​training divided into eight modules
  • Modules are offered online or in an instructor-led webinar
  • Registration is through PACE, OHCC's learning management system
  • Enhanced certification holders may stack the wage increase with the Professional Development Certification wage differential​

Enhanced Certification bro​chure.

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

Find the program schedule in the Elevate newsletter and on the PACE learning management syste​m.

​The Exceptional for Homecare Workers certification course is a 49-hour 10-session course primarily for this providers that are working for a consum​er that has been pre-approved for Exceptional services. Learners will need to pass assessments and complete a CPR/First Aid certification in order to earn an Exceptional for Homecare Workers certification.

The course primarily focuses on teaching skills necessary in providing care to those with behavioral challenges and covers topics such as traumatic brain injuries, stages of dementia, de-escalation techniques, trauma-informed care and effective communication skills. This certification will help learners develop skills to help serve individuals that may have complex behavioral needs; this determination starts with the case management assessment. 

Homecare workers who successfully earn the Exceptional for Homecare Workers certification are eligible to receive a $3.00 per hour differential while providing services and supports to eligible consumer-employers. 

Get more information in the Exceptional for HCW Brochure

See the Elev​ate Newsletter for information on upcoming sessions.

​ Questions?
If you have questions, please reach out to the Oregon Home Care Commission by calling 877-867-0077 or emailing certifications.ohcc@odhs​oha.oregon.gov

​The Exceptional for Personal Support Workers certification course includes 12 hours of coursework. The course covers a variety of topics to help personal support workers who are serving qualifying individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities with complex behaviors or complex med­ical conditions. This determination starts with the case management assessment. Learners who have met the pre-requisites may begin the training course at any time.

Pre-requisites: 

Personal Support Workers who successfully earn the Exceptional for Personal Support Workers certification are eligible to receive a $3.00 per hour differential while providing services and supports to eligible consumer-employers. 

Get more information in the Exceptional for PSW Brochure

Questions?
To request this training or if you have questions, please reach out to the  Oregon Home Care Commission by calling 877-867-0077 or emailing certifications.ohcc@odhsoha.oregon.gov

The Ventilator Dependent Quadriplegia certification course is a 49-hour 7-session course that consist of two parts (on-demand and live instructor-led webinar). This certification is designed for homecare workers who provide services and supports to consumer-employers experiencing quadriplegia and are dependent on a ventilator.

The session topics are designed to help homecare workers develop a basic understanding of quadriplegia with ventilator dependency and how to safely provide services and supports. 

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.

Get more information in the VDQ Brochure

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@odhs​​.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@odhs​.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@odhs.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​​.