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MedStart 2012
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MedStart Summer Camp 2012: all the final MedStart students who were accepted have been revised! |
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Connecting Students to Health Careers
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Greetings!
 School is almost out!
For students and teachers the school year is almost over, and summer is soon to arrive! Welcome to the May addition of the newsletter. Lets keep you updated on past and future events. Here is a quote to kick off the month of May, lets involve our students in learning about health care careers:
"Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand."
- Chinese Proverb |
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HOSA State Leadership Conference: |
The 2012 Montana HOSA State Leadership Conference was a success! The conference was held in Helena March 22 - 24th at Carroll College, UM Helena College of Technology, and Jorgenson's Inn and Suites. We had 150 attendees and over 60 volunteer judges and symposium leaders. Our students competed in 32 healthcare related competitive events and participated in healthcare facility tours/workshops at Shodair Children's Hospital, Nash Spine & Joint Rehab, Sound Health Imaging, Comprehensive Hearing Services, Big Sky Care Center, Mountain View Eye Care, Sean Melton DDS, St. Peter's Hospital Laboratory, St. Peter's Hospital OB, St. Peter's Hospital Ambulance, and St. Peter's Hospital Diagnostic Imaging. The conference concluded with a Breakfast Awards Banquet featuring keynote speaker - Attorney General and Gubernatorial Candidate, Steve Bullock. We had some great press coverage of our conference which can be found by clicking on the links below:
Helena Independent Reporter Article
Fairfield Sun Times Article |
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MedStart Summer Camp Students Accepted Revision: |
The applications are in and 114 students have been chosen for the 4 camps this summer! All of the final MedStart students who were accepted have been revised!To see the full list of students who have been accepted into MedStart click here.
MedStart Summer Camp is an AHEC funded program designed to encourage current sophomore and junior high school students to pursue their interest in a variety of healthcare careers. MedStart is completely free of charge to the students.
There will be 4 camps during the summer of 2012:
- Billings - MSU-B Campus: June 24-29, 2012
- Missoula - U of M Campus: June 24-29, 2012
- Bozeman - MSU Campus: June 24-29, 2012
- Great Falls - University of GF Campus: July 8-13, 2012
For more information, please contact Bergen Morehouse, South Central Montana AHEC Assistant Director 406.683.2790 or bergen@mtha.org |
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Teacher Training |
Health Science New Teacher Training Cancelled.
Funding could not be secured to offer Health Science Teacher Training this June. The Office of Public Instruction is working on two alternatives to training:
1). Offering a one semester online course at one of our two-year colleges; or
2). Participation in the 2012 National Health Science Curriculum Conference is in Salt Lake City this October, the conference coordinators are discussing this request. For both options you still need to complete 40 hours of job shadowing at a medical facility. Perkins-eligible schools can set aside funding to pay for this.
Updates for training will be in future K-12 newsletters to keep you informed. |
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Western Montana AHEC: R.E.A.C.H | |
Hot Springs and Plains High School Sophomores:
Doree Thilmony's Hot Springs High School Sophomores and Annawyn Griffin's Plains High School Sophomores received a glimpse at nursing job requirements on Providence Saint Patrick's Life Flight, as shown in the picture to the right. It touched down on the April 25 Clark Fork Valley Hospital R.E.A.C.H.
The Students also successfully revived a mannequin in the emergency room, this picture to the left shows them celebrating their feat. |
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Eastern Montana AHEC | |
The Eastern Montana AHEC had a great 2011-2012 school year! Thank you to all of the schools, educators, and students who participated in our activities. The EMTAHEC is looking forward to MedStart Billings, which will take place June 24th -29th, and we have a great group of students selected to participate!
Eastern MT AHEC will facilitate a healthcare exploration section on Thursday, August 2nd at the Native H.Y.P.E. (Healthy Young People Empowered) camp in Havre. Native H.Y.P.E. is a leadership program for American Indian students in Montana, Wyoming or closely surrounding areas. Approximately 40 middle school students, entering 6th - 8th grade, will be selected to participate in Native H.Y.P.E. from July 31st - August 3rd on the MSU-Northern campus in Havre, MT. Application must be received in the Billings Area Indian Health Service Office no later than 5:00 pm on May 18th. Please contact Crystal Gust at the Billings Area Indian Health Service at 406-247-7131 for more information. |
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Education Spotlight: Health Information Coding |
When you visit your doctor, your medical insurance provider will probably receive a bill for CPT code "99211." That code tells the insurer that you had an "office visit." If you got an x-ray or had blood taken, those services would also be represented by CPT codes on your bill.
There are over 9,000 CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes - one for every type of health care service provided by health care practitioners or facilities. There are another 13,500 ICD-9 codes for medical diagnoses, plus more codes for medical supplies and for various health care settings.
Medical coders spend their days sorting through patient charts to assign these codes and ensure that the health care providers they work for are properly reimbursed for their services. Coding accurately is not easy - the coder must carefully read the doctor's and nurse's notes to determine exactly what services the patient received.
Like taxpayers who fail to declare all the deductions they're entitled to, coders often fail to bill for services performed. By some estimates, inaccurate or incomplete coding costs the average doctor thousands of dollars a year in lost payments.
Because physicians and hospitals depend on accurate coding to receive proper reimbursement, the role of the coder is becoming more valued. Coders once learned their work "on the job." Now you can train to become a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), a designation that demonstrates to potential employers a certain level of coding skill and accuracy.
Schools in Montana that offer a Health Information Coding Technician Program:
Flathead Valley Community College
MSU-Great Falls-COT
MSU-Billings-COT
School in Montana that offers a Health Information Coding Associate Degree Program:
UM-Missoula-COT |
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Sponsor Thank You: |
Western Montana AHEC has been awarded a $2500 grant from the Plum Creek Foundation to support their 2012 MedStart Camp.
The Plum Creek Foundation supports organizations that improve the quality of life and provide services to residents in the communities where Plum Creek operates. They help to build stronger communities through focus area grants in community development, education, environment and arts.
Plum Creek representative, Lori Woods, made a personal visit to the WMT AHEC office, on April 30, to present the check.
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Hands on Health |
Look for the Hands on Health exhibit coming to a rural area near you!
The North Central office has coordinated with SpectrUM to bring Hands on Health to the following communities within the North Central region, in the upcoming months:
- Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, May 8th and 9th
- Rocky Boy Indian Reservation, dates TBD |
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Career Spotlight: Biogerontologist | |
Biogerontologists are scientists who study what happens to our bodies as we age. Some biogerontologists go one step further, seeking ways to "slow down" and even reverse the aging process.
Americans are living longer. A hundred years ago, the average lifespan was just 49 years. Today, it's over 77 years. So the question is: Just how long can the human "machine" survive? In the year 2100, will people routinely live to be 150? 200? 500?
Biogerontologists seek to understand the aging process by studying what happens to our cells, organs and systems as we get older. Some examine the role of environment on aging. They look for the "common denominators" that influence longevity. For example, they might ask "how much impact do diet and exercise really have on the human lifespan?"
Some biogerontologists focus on age-related conditions, such as dementia and osteoporosis, to understand why older people tend to get these illnesses. Others focus on genetics, asking whether the human organism is "engineered" to last only a certain number of years.
Some biogerontologists believe that aging itself is a medical condition that will someday be "cured." They're looking at stem cells, vitamins, antioxidants and other things that may hold the key to stopping the aging process altogether.
As you can imagine, any "drug" that promised a longer, healthy life would be very popular. For that reason, biogerontologists have significant financial support from pharmaceutical companies.
This field that focuses on aging is still in its infancy. The "big" discoveries in biogerontology haven't happened... yet.
Text courtesy of explorehealthcareers.org:
Explore Health Careers
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AHEC - The Basics |
This E-News is being sent to you by the Montana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC's) in order to open a dialogue among educators about Health Science Education for K-12 students of Montana. Through this newsletter we intend to:
- Build a shared resource of activities, materials, and lesson plans to draw on in teaching the health sciences
- Highlight the cross-curriculum nature of the health sciences
- Build an interest in and awareness of health career paths for students in the state of Montana
Please contact us with your comments, ideas, questions or projects you'd like to see highlighted in future issues of this e-newsletter. And thank you for the work you do every day to inspire and support Montana kids!
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Sincerely,
Montana AHECs (Area Health Education Centers)
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