Comparing your training options? Good.
If you run a Maryland assisted living program, your inbox is full of training vendors right now. We run one too — we get the same emails. Here's what we'd check before buying, and how we honestly stack up.
Five things to check before you buy
Becoming (and staying) a licensed manager
The 80-hour Assisted Living Manager course and the 20-hour continuing education every licensed manager needs every two years. New to the process? See the complete path to the license.
| The Care Insider | Other online courses | Classroom & live-virtual programs | CE-only vendors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHCQ approval | 80-hour course and 20-hour CE | 80-hour and 20-hour | 80-hour and 20-hour | 20-hour CE only — no 80-hour course |
| 80-hour ALM course | $997 | ~$850, often with a 90-day access clock and no refunds | $1,155–$1,400, scheduled class days or live sessions over ~2 months | Not offered |
| 20-hour continuing education | $197 — same instructors who taught your 80 hours | $150–$170 | Varies | $100 |
| Who teaches it | A named, currently licensed Maryland ALM who owns and operates a facility, with a 25-year Maryland operator | “The team” | Varies by cohort | Unnamed |
| Access | No expiry — yours to finish on your schedule | 90-day limits are common; all sales final | Fixed cohort dates — Saturdays or weekday evenings, time off work | Self-paced |
| License, start to finish | 80-hour course, then your 20 hours every two years — one vendor, one record | Varies | Varies | Renewal only — your initial training happens somewhere else |
Training the whole facility
Every aide, med tech, and cook — the COMAR-required initial and annual hours, tracked and survey-ready.
| The Care Insider | National platforms | Budget training sites | The paper binder | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $69 / seat / year — or the $99 / month bundle, up to 20 staff, with the operations platform included | $239–$419 per month with 25 seats bundled in — whether you have 25 staff or 8 — plus add-ons (administrator CEUs run $14.50 per seat per month) | As low as ~$40 / seat / year | “Free” — paid for in your evenings |
| Maryland alignment | Built exclusively for COMAR 10.07.14 — the 6-hour cognitive initial, the 2-hour annual refresher, and every annual safety hour | Generic catalog with state modules bolted on | Varies | You are the alignment |
| Beyond training | Drills, incident reports, logs, and required documents — the whole surveyor binder, not just training records | Training records only | Training records only | Everything by hand |
| Contract | Monthly. Cancel anytime. No annual minimum, no auto-renew surprise | 1-year minimum, auto-renews | Annual | — |
| Getting started | White-glove onboarding, no setup fee, existing records moved in free | Varies | Varies | — |
You can find a $100 continuing-education course and $40-a-seat staff training. What the difference buys you here: instructors you can look up on the state license registry who run a Maryland facility today, courses with no expiration clock, and a platform that holds your whole surveyor binder — not just training certificates — so the answer when OHCQ walks in is one screen.
If price is the only thing that matters, we're honestly not your vendor. If passing your next survey matters, keep reading.
Competitor figures are category ranges from publicly advertised prices and vendor emails sent to Maryland facilities, verified September 2026. No vendor is named; check the current OHCQ approved-vendor list and each vendor's own site before you buy.