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PCC to Offer New Training Programs for Healthcare and Information Technology Workers

November 12, 2010

The Pima Community College (PCC) Board of Governors Wednesday night approved six new programs designed to upgrade the skills of up to 300 local healthcare and information technology workers to convert patient health records to electronic form.

The College is working closely with the Arizona Regional Extension Center to train workers within six months to operate computerized health information systems being installed by hospitals and medical offices in southern Arizona and the United States.

The College has received funding for the programs as a sub-recipient of a two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Los Rios (Calif.) Community College District, as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

The six new Health Information Technology certificate programs, to be delivered through the College’s Center for Training and Development, are for employment as:

  1. Trainers to design and deliver training programs to employees in clinical and public health settings.
  2.  Implementation Support Specialists to provide technology support services.
  3.  Practice Workflow and Information Management Redesign Specialists to help healthcare providers reorganize to take full advantage of new health information technology.
  4. Technical Software Support Specialists to support technology deployed in clinical and public health settings.
  5. Clinician/Practitioner Consultants to help healthcare providers reorganize to take full advantage of new health information technology.
  6. Implementation Managers to provide on-site management of mobile adoption support teams before and during implementation of the health information technology systems.

In other action Wednesday night, the Board approved a new occupational degree program to meet a community need for more qualified law-enforcement officers.

The new Associate of Applied Science degree offered through the Law Enforcement Academy at Community Campus is an open-enrollment program intended for students interested in a law enforcement career. Law enforcement agencies, especially those in smaller southern Arizona municipalities, have requested a program to provide a pool of qualified employees. The College is the region’s biggest provider of qualified first responders, such as law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses.

Students who receive the degree and qualify for Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training certification are eligible to work in law enforcement agencies in the state.  The College currently offers the field of study as a Workforce Development program. Offering the program as an occupational degree allows students to qualify for financial aid.

In other action at the regular meeting, the Board voted to support Ventana Medical Systems Inc.’s Foreign Trade Zone sub-zone designation in exchange for compensation for the College’s loss of property tax revenues.

Also, the Board approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Governor’s Office of Economic Recovery that enables the College to receive Fiscal Year 2011 funds through the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The next scheduled meeting of the Board will be Wednesday, December 8 at 7 p.m. in Room A109 at Community Campus, 401 North Bonita Avenue.

CONTACT:
A. Rachelle Howell, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Marketing,
(520) 206-4850