Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 11, 1995 TAG: 9511130035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will help train health care specialists who are supplementing the work of doctors in the 9th Congressional District, said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, who announced the grant Friday at Wythe County Community Hospital.
Wythe is one of the 15 counties in Boucher's district, all of which is federally designated a medically underserved area with a shortage of health professionals.
The federal funds will be used to expand the skills of students who are training to be nurses, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapist assistants and respiratory care providers, Boucher said.
For example, college President Harry Nickens said, a hospital might need a respiratory therapist for only five hours a day and could not afford to pay one for a full day. But if that therapist had other skills in administering electrocardiograms or X-rays, those skills could be used to justify the position.
The college's application for the grant was ranked No.1 among 90 applications nationwide, Boucher said, partly owing to support from the Carilion Health System, Lewis-Gale Hospital, the LOA Area Agency on Aging, Roanoke Health Department, Salem Veterans Affairs Hospital and area free clinics.
Fourteen months ago, the college received a $1.7 million grant aimed at strengthening institutional programs. It will allow 24 students from west of Roanoke to be accepted into a physician's assistant program.
That first class will be made up of Southwest Virginia residents, Boucher said. Since 85 percent of the college's graduates return to their home communities to practice, he said, this initiative also will increase the number of health practitioners in the 9th District.
Nickens said the New River Valley also has a shortage of certified nursing assistants, and the college plans to start a seven-week CNA program in January.
The college was founded in 1982, offering associate degrees in health care fields. It had 561 students enrolled this fall, a 21 percent increase over 1994. Currently, it is part of Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley, but it must become independent by May 1997 when the hospital will cut off support.
While the college's operation does not depend on grants, the money helps the school's transition to independence, Nickens said.
The grants make it possible for the college to create new niches, such as the physician assistant program. A broader curriculum makes the school more appealing and better able to recruit new students, he said.
Staff writer Sandra Brown Kelly contributed to this story.
by CNB