(July 13, 2020) – Two of the nation’s most influential nursing education associations, the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN), and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), have negotiated no-cost access to CastleBranch’s T.E.A.M. CB COVID-19 Compliance solution for healthcare education programs, students and associated facilities.

While the T.E.A.M. toolset within CB COVID-19 Compliance was previously available at no cost through December 2020, OADN and AACN advocated to ensure these programs, facilities and students maintained no-cost access until a vaccine for COVID-19 is made widely available. Access to the tool will help to ensure student safety in the clinical environment.

“It’s crucial we do everything possible to help nursing students return to clinical experiences, empowering them to graduate and join the nursing workforce. These programs and students are under incredible pressure, and we must not place them in a position where they have to choose between their safety and their financial wellbeing,” said Donna Meyer, CEO of OADN. “It’s why we advocated on behalf of all nursing programs and students to give them no-cost access to T.E.A.M. until we have a vaccine.”

Concerns over COVID-19 shuttered the doors to clinical sites throughout the country, keeping students from continuing their education and threatening to cause a shortage in frontline healthcare workers. Following Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, CastleBranch’s CB COVID-19 Compliance solution enables administrators at healthcare education programs to screen students for common COVID-19 symptoms and high-risk indicators, all while complying with strict federal privacy guidelines. This toolset, Temperature, Education, Attestation, and Monitoring (T.E.A.M.), helps ensure students are healthy and safe before returning to clinical environments.

“COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge to our entire healthcare system, including our nursing educators, students and programs,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, president and CEO of AACN. “This partnership with CastleBranch is a prime example of the good that can come from private businesses, educational institutions, and government health agencies uniting with clarity and purpose to serve the public good.”

CB COVID-19 Compliance is built upon CastleBranch’s existing enterprise-level solution, CB Bridges, which has the proven ability to support millions of users. The platform is designed to remain compliant with all relevant regulations governing the collection and usage of private data, including FERPA, FCRA, CCPA and more.

The decision to expand the no-cost access through the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine came after OADN and AACN leadership approached CastleBranch, who negotiated access not just to their members, but the entire nursing education industry.

“Healthcare educators train the next generation of healthcare professionals to protect us from infectious disease,” said Brett Martin, CEO of CastleBranch. “We stand with this community, and are happy to lend our support to OADN, AACN and all of nursing education.”

To learn more about how CastleBranch can help, visit discover.castlebranch.com/covid-19-resources/ or call or email us at 888.723.4263 ext. 1066, covid19@castlebranch.com