Webinar Summary
Introduction to the Workshop
This webinar, features Erin Luers Abbott, a project manager at Hebrew SeniorLife's Marcus Institute for Aging Research, sharing how Lunder CareForce Institute uses BlockSurvey to manage over 600 nurse aide training program applications. She walks through their end-to-end workflow - from intake and eligibility screening to enrollment and communications - showing how BlockSurvey can function as a flexible, HIPAA-compliant workflow engine far beyond a traditional survey tool.
1. The Healthcare Workforce Challenge
- A growing aging population is outpacing caregiver availability, creating a critical staffing crisis in senior care.
- High turnover, cost instability, and declining caregiver supply directly impact organizations like Hebrew SeniorLife.
- Lunder CareForce was created to build a stable pipeline starting with certified nurse aides, with a pathway to Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certification.
- The program targets an untapped potential workforce facing barriers such as language challenges, financial hardship, and childcare needs.
2. System Requirements as a Healthcare Startup
- Compliance-first: Required FERPA and HIPAA compliance from day one with deployment in under a month.
- Needed automated communications, audience and database management, and light CRM functionality without a massive rollout.
- Key features sought: email campaign, centralized applicant tracking, duplicate submission control, and workflow automation.
- White-labelling with a custom domain was essential for brand consistency - applicants needed to hear from Lunder CareForce, not a third-party SaaS tool.
3. Why BlockSurvey Fit the Bill
- BlockSurvey was chosen for its speed of deployment, flexibility, and ability to evolve with startup needs without heavy IT dependency.
- The shift was from thinking about surveys as isolated forms to building connected, automated workflows.
4. The End-to-End Application Workflow
- Applications are open for multiple submissions - applicants can reapply as circumstances change (work authorization, English proficiency, residency) and their audience panel record updates automatically.
- Eligibility logic runs two complex groups of criteria within the application form; a text variable outputs a simple 'eligible / not eligible' status that maps directly to the audience panel.
- Eligible applicants receive an automated screening invitation email; ineligible applicants receive a rejection notice - both triggered from within BlockSurvey.
- The screening stage includes an English comprehension survey (completed by the applicant) and a screening evaluation form (completed by the instructor), both inside BlockSurvey and both mapped back to the audience panel.
- Enrollment collects secure documentation - vaccination records, physical exam forms - all within BlockSurvey's HIPAA-compliant environment.
5. Survey Logic & Eligibility Automation
- Two sets of complex eligibility conditions - covering diploma status, enrolment type, employer sponsorship consent, and more - are evaluated through application logic and condensed into a single text variable.
- English comprehension tests use randomized question groups with automatic scoring; a pass/fail variable is written to the audience panel the moment the form is submitted.
- Screening evaluation logic handles edge cases like no-shows or insufficient English for the interview, routing the screener to triage fields.
- Submission timestamps are automatically captured and mapped to the audience panel, giving the admissions coordinator a precise record of when each screening occurred.
6. Email Campaigns & Communications
- Email Campaigns personalize every email using audience panel fields - first name, employer sponsor, current status - ensuring each message feels individual even at scale.
- Email sends are triggered by manually setting a date column, so staff review each record before an email goes out - a deliberate choice to maintain a personal touch rather than full automation.
- Campaign tracker enhancements now show send time, open status, and whether an attached survey has been completed.
7. Data Integration & Reporting
- BlockSurvey handles intake, surveys, and communications; Smartsheet covers project-level management and employer coordination in separate workspaces.
- Google Ads are tracked using unique survey share links, allowing attribution of applications to specific campaigns.
- Application analytics built into BlockSurvey deliver quick, formula-free insights across all question responses.
8. Feedback & Continuous Improvement
- End-of-program surveys gather student experience feedback and are analysed directly within BlockSurvey's built-in analytics.
- Erin's six months of close feedback with the BlockSurvey team led to direct product improvements.
Meet the Speaker
Erin Luers Abbott is a Project Manager at Hebrew SeniorLife's Marcus Institute for Aging Research, where she leads digital project management and workflow optimization. She spearheads the operational infrastructure of Lunder CareForce Institute - a new workforce development program training the next generation of frontline healthcare workers. With a background in complex data and process design, she has built a scalable, HIPAA-compliant application management system handling 600+ applicants across multiple cohorts using BlockSurvey, SavvyCal, and Smartsheet. Her close collaboration with the BlockSurvey team over the past year has directly shaped core platform features. Connect with Erin Luers Abbott on LinkedIn.