Senator Leahy Addresses Medical
Coding Graduates
At Fletcher Allen Health Care
BURLINGTON, VT (July
14, 2008) – The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, U.S. Senator addressed
graduates of a medical coding training program developed by Fletcher
Allen Health Care and Vermont HITEC today in a ceremony held at
Fletcher Allen Health Care.
Senator Leahy has
been instrumental in securing funding for many of the recent
training programs developed by Fletcher Allen and Vermont HITEC as
well as the Fletcher Allen Health Care Workforce Development
Institute, created in partnership with Vermont HITEC to help
Fletcher Allen address critical workforce developments needs by
training unemployed and underemployed Vermonters for positions that
are difficult to fill.
The ten graduates
were selected from over 350 applicants for the free training program
and became officially employed on Monday, June 30, 2008 as full-time
employees at Fletcher Allen Health Care. The eight female and two
male graduates range in age from 22 to 45 and came to the program
with varied backgrounds. Medical coders ensure that diagnoses and
treatments are correctly documented according to federal compliance
and reimbursement rules.
Fletcher Allen
President and Chief Executive Officer Melinda Estes, M.D., welcomed
Senator Leahy to the ceremony that included friends and families of
the graduates.
“We are grateful to
Senator Leahy for his on-going commitment to our needs in education
and workforce development,” Dr. Estes said. “Senator Leahy has
secured more than $900,000 to support the programs of the Workforce
Development Institute. By the end of 2010,
we expect to fill an additional 50 positions through this
unique mode of collaboration with Vermont HITEC.”
The funds are administered by Vermont HITEC and cover the
costs of developing and operating the training programs.
In his remarks,
Senator Leahy stated that, “Fletcher Allen Health Care is an
important institution to all Vermonters. This funding to Vermont
HITEC will provide the opportunity to ensure that the long term
needs of Fletcher Allen’s workforce will be met, and that the
individuals who provide our health care are qualified to do so.”
The graduates will
earn $15.16 per hour to start in their new positions and are
prepared to take the Certified
Professional Coder exam, issued by the American Academy of
Professional Coders (AAPC). The pay scale for medical coders starts
at $15.16 per hour with long-term earning potential of up to $22.75
per hour. The positions will also include a comprehensive benefits
package.
The graduates will
also be participating in a one-year apprenticeship program that will
provide on-going mentoring and training and will result in a
certificate from the State of Vermont Apprenticeship division upon
successful completion.
About the Fletcher
Allen/Vermont HITEC Partnership
The Fletcher Allen Workforce
Development Institute was created in partnership with Vermont HITEC
to help address critical workforce development needs by training
unemployed and underemployed Vermonters for jobs that are
persistently difficult to fill. The
institute is designed to be flexible to match current workforce
needs.
Fletcher Allen and Vermont HITEC
developed their partnership in 2004 with funding assistance from
both the state of Vermont and the U.S. Department of Labor. The
first three programs provided focused training for medical
transcription and administrative health care information technology
positions. To date, a total of 48 Vermonters have been trained and
offered positions at Fletcher Allen Health Care as a result of these
programs.
The
first Vermont HITEC training session was conducted over an
eight-month period in an intensive training program for 20 medical
transcriptionists. This work-at-home program was followed by the
launching of a more formal health care workforce development
training institute developed with the support of a $325,000 federal
grant secured by Senator Patrick Leahy.
The federal funding allowed for the
implementation of two additional training programs for 29
entry-level administrative positions, and the further development of
the institute. Senator Leahy has since secured another $588,000
Federal Earmark to support additional training programs.
About Vermont HITEC
Vermont HITEC is a 501C (3)
non-profit organization with a mission to educate, train and employ
Vermonters in a variety of fields. Vermont HITEC has employed over
300 Vermonters over the past seven years in medical transcription,
information technology and manufacturing partnering with over 20
Vermont businesses including the former IDX Systems Corporation,
Fletcher Allen Health Care, Husky Injection Molding Systems,
Hazelett Strip Casting Corporation, and Dealer.com. They have also
begun working with companies in New Hampshire including Hypertherm
of Hanover and Timkin of Lebanon. Vermonters interested in learning
more about these training programs, should visit the Vermont HITEC
website at www.vthitec.org or contact Lisa Gorman, Project Leader,
at lisa.gorman@vthitec.org; 802-872-0660, Vermont HITEC, P.O. Box
1548, Williston, VT 05495.
About Fletcher Allen Health Care
Fletcher Allen Health Care, together
with our partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine
and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont’s
academic medical center. Our mission is to improve the health of
the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care,
education and research in a caring environment. Fletcher Allen
serves as a regional referral center -- providing advanced care to
approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York --
and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in
Chittenden and Grand Isle counties. With more than 30 patient care
sites and 100 outreach clinics, programs and services throughout the
region, Fletcher Allen is committed to being a national model for
the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural
region.
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