Few Seats Still Open in New VGCC Health Unit Coordinator Program
Anyone interested in working as a Health Unit Coordinator should act quickly to enroll in Vance-Granville Community College’s new four-month certificate program on the college’s main campus in Vance County. There is room for a few more students, according to VGCC coordinator Laura Peace. Classes begin June 16 and will be held on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.
The instructor will be Vickie Faulkner of Oxford (pictured above), a graduate of VGCC’s Medical Coding program and an equal employment opportunity specialist at the VA Medical Center in Durham. Faulkner has worked as a health unit coordinator at the VA, and counts that experience as one of her favorite jobs.
“Because of the many hospitals and health care facilities in our area, and because the demand is so great, this is a great opportunity for people to get their foot in the door,” Faulkner said. “The Health Unit Coordinator is an entry-level job that pays well, and it’s a good place to begin to work your way up in health care, if you find that this is a career field that you love.”
Faulkner said a Health Unit Coordinator is not a clinical patient-care position, but it deals with patients and their families, as well as with physicians and other professionals. “You get to know everybody in this type of job,” Faulkner noted, so the experience offers a good route to advancement. “There’s a world of opportunity out there.”
The VGCC course will cover all the responsibilities of a Health Unit Coordinator, including administrative duties, processing patients and maintaining medical records. Hospitals will typically employ several coordinators, each working in a different area or department. Faulkner said that the same skills apply not only to working in hospitals but also in physician’s offices and nursing facilities. “At four months, this is a relatively short course, so you can quickly get a foundation and get out into the workforce,” she added.
Students interested in taking this course should have a high school diploma or GED. The cost of the course will be $60, plus a $2 parking fee and the cost of a textbook. For more information and to register for the course, call VGCC at (252) 738-3417 or (252) 738-3435.
