Grant may boost medical records jobs

Mountain State Health Alliance and its Smyth County Community Hospital and General Francis Marion Manor Nursing Home could benefit, and people around the region could gain employment, as a result of a $4.7 million grant aimed at developing jobs in electronic medical information technology through Southwest Virginia.
A Virginia Tech-led team of 25 partners in the region will use the U.S. Department of Labor grant to “focus health information technology (IT) training in communities hard hit by job losses in Southwest Virginia,” said a release from VT’s Office of Economic Development.
John Provo, interim director of that office, called the grant “exciting for several reasons. First, this grant will train health care professionals and help advance the application of medical IT throughout the region. Second, the grant will provide employment opportunities for displaced and underemployed workers and open the door to new career opportunities.”
Amy L. Taylor, MSHA’s corporate director for grants and awards, said Monday MSHA has set an organizational and information meeting for this grant for Aug. 3.
“We do not have any direct information at this time as to how any actual grant funding, or how much, will flow to the facilities. MSHA is initially participating as part of the industry advisory board,” Taylor said.
Called HITE, for Health Information Technology Education, the initiative will target health care workers in nursing, pharmacy, and medical-assistant fields. The grant provides $426,000 to underwrite work at Virginia Tech during the three-year life of the project, the release said.
Lance Matheson, associate professor of business information technology in the Pamplin College of Business, will work with five community colleges on curricula to incorporate health IT training. The lead applicant on the grant is Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon.
Other community college partners are Mountain Empire, Southwest Virginia, New River, and Virginia Western. Faculty at the University of Virginia at Wise will support curricula development needs and provide program guidance.
Key to the project’s success is partnership with local health care providers sharing input with the curriculum development advisory committee, Provo said.
Industry partners include Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) hospitals Montgomery Regional and Pulaski Community Hospital, Carilion Clinic, Clinch Valley Medical Center, Holston Medical Group, Buchanan General Hospital, and Wellmont Health Systems
MSHA will also participate through Dickenson Community Hospital, Clintwood; Johnston Memorial Hospital, Abingdon; Russell County Medical Center, Lebanon; and SCCH and Francis Marion Manor, the release said.
Each hospital and health system is in various stages of implementing an electronic medical records system, and many will benefit from having employees trained under the grant.
The region’s three Workforce Investment Boards in Roanoke, Dublin, and Lebanon will provide recruitment, assessment, job placement, and other services for the project.
Electronic medical records have been promoted for several years as a way to reduce unnecessary procedures, streamline and improve patient care, and improve patient safety, Matheson said.
The Office of Economic Development is part of Virginia Tech’s Outreach and International Affairs.