Much about the future of health care is uncertain, but this much we know. The U.S. population is growing and aging, and the health care work force is aging with it. The future will hold a greater demand for services and a likely shortage of nurses and general practice physicians.
Doctors and nurses are only the tip of the iceberg in the health care sector, however. It also takes a number of allied health professionals — radiologic technologists, sonographers, EKG technicians, respiratory therapists, surgical technicians and others — to support one physician in today’s health care environment.
“A radiologist can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment based on a radiologic image [X-ray, CT scan, sonogram], but he can’t interpret an image if he doesn’t have one,” said Jim Sass, head of radiologic technology at Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville. “We take great pride in creating good images that we know will help patients along on their medical journey.”
Workers in allied health care occupations need specialized training and often require certification before entering the work force. The majority of that training in the state is delivered through the Technical College System of Georgia. As they assess the community needs, technical college leaders have made allied health care training a top priority for several reasons: it leads to good-paying jobs; the health care employment sector is growing; and it fills a real need in the state.
By 2016, health services will account for one in 11 Georgia jobs, a total of about 430,000. It’s little wonder that new health sciences buildings and programs have cropped up at Atlanta Tech, Columbus Tech, Chattahoochee Tech, Gwinnett Tech and Lanier Tech, to name a few.
“I’m fine with investing in health care education. It benefits everyone,” said Mary Beth Byerly, vice president of institutional advancement at Gwinnett Tech. “When you’re having a heart attack, the paramedic and the lab technicians are part of the equation of good care. We all need the best, and we want to produce the best.”
This fall, Gwinnett Tech will open its new 78,000-square-foot Life Sciences Center. It will serve 3,000 students annually, allowing existing programs to expand and the addition of new ones. Gwinnett Tech will have the second-largest concentration of health care education in the state, behind Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta.
“Currently, 43 percent of our students are enrolled in health sciences programs. We’ve turned away thousands due to lack of space,” Byerly said. “We started looking at job projections and community growth in 2005. We found that there would be a demand for 27,000 new jobs in health care in our focus region in the next five years; 8,223 of those jobs will be in Gwinnett.”
Gwinnett Tech officials knew the school needed a new building and that it would take public and private money. A $23 million state appropriation funded the construction. A Gwinnett Foundation Legacy of Lives campaign is raising money to equip and operate the 13 new classrooms and 12 high-tech labs.
“Health sciences programs are very expensive to run. It can cost as much as three to six times what it costs to train a business or computer information technology student,” Byerly said.
Hiring qualified faculty, meeting required faculty-to-student ratios and furnishing labs costs money.
“Offering more health sciences programs isn’t easy, but it’s the right thing to do,” Byerly said.
Because the radiologic technology program acquired four new X-ray labs in 1997, it won’t be moving to the new building. However, the program will have room to expand its MRI and CT instruction when the nursing program moves. All Gwinnett Tech’s allied health students will benefit from state-of-the-art anatomy and physiology labs in the new building — a prerequisite for all the programs.
Gwinnett’s new programs will include diagnostic sonography, cardiovascular technology and one-year, paramedic-to-RN and LPN-to-RN bridge programs.
In anticipation of a new health information technology program, the radiologic technology program has partnered with Gwinnett Tech’s Foundation, Gwinnett Health System and McKesson (a leading provider of health information technology systems) to share the use of a hospital health information system for training purposes.
“Imaging is digital these days and must be incorporated into patient electronic medical records,” Sass said. “Using a real-world system will enhance student learning and allow them to move easier into industry.”
His students already have a 99.8 percent pass rate on the national certificate exam. Overall, the college’s allied health job placement rates are around 98 percent.
A teacher since 1984, Sass has seen a shift in the public’s perception of technical college education.
“I think people realize that we offer a quality education that leads to lifetime careers, at a very affordable price,” he said.
Most allied health degree and diploma programs cost less than $10,000, far below private institution tuition.
Links to industry
“Direct links to business and industry makes technical education in Georgia unique and very effective,” said Alvetta Thomas, president of Atlanta Technical College. “I don’t think that’s common practice around the country.”
Georgia’s technical colleges operate using the expertise of people in industry. They plan programs and revise curriculum based on input from industry advisory boards. Sometimes they receive equipment and training support from the industries they serve.
“It’s critical to have that link. It keeps us on the cutting edge,” Thomas said.
Naming rights to labs, classrooms and buildings make more programs possible than can be afforded on state budgets, she added.
In December, Atlanta Tech opened the state-funded $14.8 million Brenda Watts Jones Allied Health and Technology Complex, which was more than 10 years in the making.
“The education offered in this building will help save lives and it will change the lives of our students,” she said. “The job prospects are excellent for allied health.”
The college is going through the accreditation process to add dental hygiene, surgical technology, radiologic technology, physical therapy assisting, occupational therapy assisting and a nursing associate degree program to its existing offerings.
“These programs lead to high-paying jobs and will meet real needs in our service area,” Thomas said. “We sit in the middle of many hospitals in Atlanta.”
The new building also will house a dental hygienist clinic that will be open to the public.
“There may be a lot of dental hygienists in Georgia, but Atlanta dentists told us they couldn’t find enough people. Our graduates stay in this community to work, and we wanted to meet that need.”
Form and function
About 11 years ago, Columbus Technical College faced severe crowding in its facilities.
“We had health science students in three older buildings,” said Barbara Gaither, dean of the school of health sciences at Columbus Tech. “Several programs had to compete for lab times in our 18-bed lab, and radiologic technology students had no lab. They had to train in hospitals, where real patients could interrupt classroom instruction. It was hardly ideal.”
With enthusiastic community support and a need to meet the allied health work force demand of a growing city, the Columbus Technical College Foundation raised $10 million before approaching the state for money.
“I believe it was the first public/private collaboration, and our system commissioner told us it set a new trend,” Gaither said.
The $26 million Robert L. Wright Jr. Health Sciences Building opened last September. The building just won a Keep Columbus Beautiful Commission Award, but it’s doing more than beautifying the city.
“We now have 39 hospital beds in four different labs and a very expensive patient-simulation lab,” she said. “We’re starting a new physical therapy assisting program and a personal trainer certification. We’ve received approval for a pilot program to offer an associate of science degree in health science. This building is opening a lot of doors for students.”
This fall, Columbus Tech will offer 26 health sciences programs.
“We’re seeing a lot of people come here to transition into a new career and they’re finding opportunities in health care,” Gaither said.
About the Author
