RELEASE DATE:  June 24, 2008

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Public Affairs

 

Community college students to offer health screenings at the General Assembly Wednesday

 

RALEIGH – Community college students, instructors and alumni will bring their expertise to the General Assembly on Wednesday, June 25 to help fight two of the state’s major health threats – vascular disease and diabetes.

 

From 9 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., representatives of South Piedmont Community College will set up in the 1200 Court of the Legislative Building on Jones Street in downtown Raleigh to offer screening for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and glucose screenings for diabetes.  Participants will come from South Piedmont’s program in Medical Sonography and Medical Assisting. Their goal is to demonstrate for legislators the scale and importance of health sciences programs in North Carolina’s 58 community colleges.

 

To meet looming health care workforce shortages, North Carolina will need to produce an additional 2,400 more health care graduates annually, a particular challenge for North Carolina community colleges given crowded community college programs already produce the majority of North Carolina’s allied health workers.  The per-student cost of allied health students is about one and a half times the average cost, or $1,604 more per full-time equivalent (FTE) student than other degree programs. 

 

Medical Sonography and Medical Assisting are among the top ten occupations projected for 2004-2014, according to the Employment Security Commission.  Medical Sonography ranks among the ten best-paying jobs for associate degree graduates. Diagnostic medical sonographers are trained to use high tech equipment to direct high frequency sound waves into various structures of the human body.  They have to critically think through the images and information obtained during each exam to determine the extent to which the normal and abnormal anatomy is being appropriately imaged. New graduates make an average of $22/ hour and experienced sonographers can make up to $34/hour.

 

An average salary for a medical assistant is about $23,000 a year. Specializations in the field include associate degree, diploma and certificate programs. South Piedmont Community College, which serves Anson and Union counties, has the only COLT (Certified Office Laboratory Technician) program in the state of North Carolina.

 

Vascular disease is known as a silent killer because there often is no warning sign until it’s too late.  The screening for peripheral arterial disease of the legs (PAD) can detect narrowing or blockage of leg arteries. PAD can cause extensive leg pain and lead to loss of limbs.  Diabetes is also a deadly disease that is easily treated, if detected. The blood glucose test measures the amount of glucose in the blood right at the time of sample collection. It is used to detect both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and to help diagnose diabetes.

  

This is one of a series of demonstrations that will be offered at the General Assembly to illustrate the variety of community college program offerings.  The North Carolina Community College System enrolls more than 800,000 students in 58 comprehensive community colleges.  Internationally recognized for the scope and quality of its programs, the system is North Carolina's primary provider of workforce preparation and adult education.