Dr. Matthew Hays, Amplifire’s VP of Research and Analytics, delivered a compelling talk at LEAP HR: Healthcare 2025 that challenged long-held assumptions about workplace training. His presentation, Leveraging the Science of Learning to Strengthen Your Workforce, wasn’t just about improving performance—it was about saving lives, cutting costs, and driving real change through scientifically informed eLearning.
The Stakes: Infection, Cost, and Human Lives
Dr. Hays opened with a striking example from healthcare: central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). These occur when central lines—tubes inserted into the heart for administering medication—become contaminated by healthcare providers. The consequences are severe. One in six CLABSI victims dies, and survivors often suffer long-term complications. For hospitals, each infection carries an average unreimbursed cost of almost $50,000.
According to Dr. Hays, many efforts have been undertaken to reduce CLABSI rates. Most of these efforts are unsuccessful; CLABSIs are a stubborn problem and continue to challenge providers and administrators across the country and the world. Dr. Hays then shared data about an intervention that was able to cut CLABSI rates almost in half.
A Novel Intervention: Short, Science-Based Training
Before the training, the infection rate at one healthcare system was 1.08 CLABSI-related infection per 1,000 line days. After implementation, it dropped to 0.56—a 48% reduction.
Hays explained that, although one might expect to see effects of this magnitude from physical interventions (e.g., bacteria-resistant lines or gloves) or pharmaceutical developments (e.g., stronger antibiotics), this reduction in CLABSI was driven entirely by training. And it wasn’t a two-week-long, intensive, instructor-led course. It was a half-hour training session, delivered online.
This spectacular result wasn’t a one-off, either. A follow-up deployment used an improved version of the course, and compared CLABSI rates at a health system’s locations that used the training versus those that didn’t. The CLABSI rate dropped by eighty percent – but only at the locations where the training was used. Critically, all other anti-CLABSI efforts were consistent across the health system. Training alone drove the results.
Again, this wasn’t a massive overhaul or in-person workshop. It was a short, digital module.
Beyond Healthcare: Broader Workforce Applications
This approach doesn’t just work for CLABSI. Hays shared examples from other applications:
- One Healthcare Alliance member cut onboarding time from 250 hours to 125.
- Another slashed training costs from $2.5 million to $430K.
- A healthcare system using Amplifire for their nurse onboarding saw satisfaction jump from 14% to 59%, helping reduce first-year nurse turnover to zero.
The secret? A science-backed approach to how people actually learn.
Why Typical Training Fails
Hays explained that traditional training is built according to how people think learning works – not how it actually works. In reality, many of the best ways to arrange instruction are counterintuitive and therefore require research to be discovered. Amplifire incorporates these research-based techniques to help people remember information longer and be able to apply their skills more effectively.
23 Principles of Learning—Built In
Amplifire’s platform incorporates 23 principles discovered through decades of cognitive science research. These principles are designed to correct misconceptions, reinforce retention, and prepare employees to apply knowledge in critical situations. According to Dr. Hays, learners can feel the difference; they can feel that Amplifire is delivering information in the way their brains are built to learn.
Takeaway: Smarter Learning Drives Real Outcomes
What Amplifire has demonstrated is simple but powerful: when training aligns with how the brain actually learns, it works. It doesn’t need to be long or flashy—it needs to be right. From infection prevention to onboarding, the right training can reduce costs, increase satisfaction, and improve outcomes across the board.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). CLABSI 101 (STRIVE Infection Control Training). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/media/pdfs/Strive-CLABSI101-508.pdf
