OADN & AACN Secure No-Cost Access to COVID-19 Screening Solution Until Vaccines Become Widely Available

WILMINGTON, NC – 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.”

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About the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN): Recognized nationally as the voice and advocate for Associate Degree Nursing, OADN’s mission is to provide visionary leadership in nursing education to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve. By fostering dynamic and collaborative nursing education strategies, OADN ensures that the Associate Degree Nursing remains a pathway for a diverse spectrum of students, enriching the profession, and meeting the health care needs of patients, families, and communities. For more information, visit www.oadn.org.  

About the American Association of Colleges of Nursing: The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for academic nursing representing more than 840 schools of nursing nationwide. AACN establishes quality standards for nursing education, influences the nursing profession to improve health care, and promotes public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research and practice. For more information, visit www.aacnnursing.org.

About CastleBranch: Located in Wilmington, N.C., CastleBranch is a compliance management and infectious disease screening company serving over 17,700 healthcare programs, 1 million students, and thousands of employers and healthcare facilities nationwide. CastleBranch has 20+ years of experience, employs over 400 team members and has a long track record of providing innovative solutions for complex problems.

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