The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator, announced that Cuyahoga Community College is selected to lead a group of Midwestern community colleges that will offer health information technology training to move the nation toward a system of electronic medical records.
Tri-C will lead the Midwestern Consortium involving 17 community colleges who will receive a year one award of $7.5 million with possible for additional funds of more than $7 million in year two from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to meet requirements of the HITECH Act. The act authorizes that every U.S. citizen have an electronic medical record by 2014. Tri-C and the other community colleges will use the grant funds to offer training to current and future healthcare workers who will incorporate electronic health record information systems at hospitals, doctor's offices and other medical facilities.
The Community College Consortia Program provides help to five regional recipients to establish a multi-institutional syndicate within each region. The five regional syndicates will include 70 community colleges. Individuals can complete non-degree training programs in six months or less with appropriate prior education and/or experience. First year grant awards are estimated at $36 million. After successful completion of a mid-project evaluation, an additional $34 million is available for year two funding of these programs.
Jerry Sue Thornton, president, Cuyahoga Community College said that there is going to be an enormous ongoing need for people to be trained in how to develop, maintain and use electronic health record information systems. Jerry said that this funding allows us to build on the strengths of the local healthcare partners who are ahead of the curve on electronic medical records and a strong network of partners across a 10-state region to deliver this training.
Thornton also added that community colleges will provide training to maximize the information technology usage to meet national goals of improving the quality of health care, reducing medical errors, reducing health inequalities, improving public health, increasing prevention and coordination with community resources, and improving the continuity of care among health care settings.
Carolyn John is a Contributor to HealthTechZone. To read more of her articles, please columnist page.Edited by
Stefania Viscusi
