The other day the American Heart Association (AHA) made some dramatic changes to the costs of the materials that I use in my courses, and the changes went into effect immediately. This might change how much I charge for courses and what types of courses I offer.
The changes only affect the Heartsaver courses, the pricing for BLS Provider and Heartcode BLS courses and supplies will remain the same. Although I suppose there is a chance that will change down the road.
Unlike when the guidelines change, instructors and training centers were not given any prior notice. So it was an unexpected change.
On the positive side, the cost for the textbooks and online courses are decreasing. Books are going to be dramatically less, from $7.50 – $13 less. The online courses between $.50 to $14 less. Those are good changes.
On the negative side, the cost for the certification card or ecard has increased 656%. Training Centers were purchasing cards from the authorized AHA distributors for about $2.50 per card. Now they will cost $17 per card. Most Training Sites and Instructors purchase their cards from a Training Center, many of whom charge an additional fee per card to cover the costs of the Training Center. This increase is huge, and not completely offset by the lowered charges for books and online courses.
So what does this mean for the courses I offer at Coastal CPR & First Aid?
First – BLS courses are not affected by this change and pricing and scheduling will remain the same.
Second – I have a surplus of Heartsaver Online Course keys that I have already purchased. Once those are depleted the cost for an online course will decrease to match the lowered cost of the course. Heartsaver CPR AED Online is only decreasing in cost by $.50, so that change might not even be noticeable.
Third – I have a surplus of Heartsaver books I purchased under the older more expensive price. As they get used up the cost for course books will decrease.
Fourth – I’m waiting to find out what my Training Center is going to charge me for cards. Once I know what that increase will be the costs for Heartsaver Online Skills Sessions will increase to cover the additional course charge. The cost for Heartsaver classroom courses may also increase to cover the additional card charge. I am not sure how much the offset of less expensive books will impact the increase in the course charges as they are not proportional changes.
Fifth – I am also an American Safety and Health Institute (ASHI) Training Center and an American Red Cross (ARC) instructor. I’m going to be looking at all the pricing for supplies for these programs and if they are more cost effective I may begin offering these courses instead of the Heartsaver courses.
There are a lot of decisions and changes that will be coming up. This is in additional to my search for a new classroom to offer my courses as my landlord is selling the office condo I am renting. I will post updates to the schedule, costs, courses offered, and location of courses as things become more settled.
