For Release:
Immediate (Tuesday, March 27, 2007)

Contact:
Collin Parker
Public Relations, Fletcher Allen Health Care
802-847-2886

WILLISTON, VT – Fletcher Allen Health Care and Vermont HITEC celebrated the graduation of 15 Vermonters from a Vermont HITEC training program on Thursday morning, March 29, at 11:00 a.m. in the McClure Lobby Conference Room at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

The students were officially employed on Monday, March 26th as full-time employees with Fletcher Allen. Fletcher Allen President and Chief Executive Officer Melinda Estes, M.D., kicked off the graduation luncheon ceremony with remarks to over 75 invitees including the former students and their friends and families. The former students ranged from 18 to 50 and come from a variety of backgrounds.

"I am so proud of these individuals who have successfully completed this intense program,” said Fletcher Allen President and Chief Executive Officer Melinda Estes, M.D.  “We are pleased to welcome them as our employees."

The students will employed in health care support roles (either Practice Support Specialist or Registration Representatives) and will earn $11.75 per hour plus full benefits in their new positions. The students will also be eligible to gain a one-year apprenticeship certificate from the State of Vermont Apprenticeship division.

More than 100 people applied for the fifteen available spaces in the program, which was made possible through a $325,000 workforce development grant secured by U.S. Senator Patrick J. Leahy.  The grant also provides for a second program, to begin in the fall of 2007. Details of this training program will be available at a later date.

The new training programs will also be the foundation of the development of a health care workforce development institute that will continue to offer education and training for Vermonters for many years to come.  In announcing the grant 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.”

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. As part of his remarks, Gerry Ghazi, President of Vermont HITEC will note that workforce development is a critical issue for many Vermont employers and the need is likely to increase dramatically over the next 10 years.

The new training programs follow on the heels of another successful training program conducted in 2004-2005. The program was implemented in response to public outcry of outsourcing medical transcription overseas and trained 20 students in medical transcription. As a result of the program, the medical transcription backlog at Fletcher Allen was eliminated and the work is no longer outsourced.

Dr. Estes said, "This continues to be a win-win solution for everyone involved – for Fletcher Allen and our new employees, for Vermont HITEC, and for the people of the state of Vermont.  Our partnership with Vermont HITEC continues to grow and strengthen and is highly successful in helping us meet our workforce needs."

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