Denver, Oct. 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Westwood College is launching the School of Healthcare to prepare students for quality jobs in the rapidly growing healthcare industry. Healthcare is the fastest growing industry in the U.S. at 17.9 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 with future growth projected at an annual average of 5.7 percent for the next decade, nearly one percentage point faster than prior years*.
See video from Westwood College at:
http://inr.synapticdigital.com/Westwood/schoolofhealthcare
Fueled by the addition of more than 34 million uninsured Americans
who will gain health insurance coverage under the federal Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, healthcare is expected to
produce 5.6 million new jobs between 2010 and 2020**.
Westwood's new programs create additional opportunities for workers
to learn the skills to pursue a career in this growing sector. The
School of Healthcare will feature three primary degree and diploma
programs, including:
• Medical Office Management
• Medical Insurance Coding and Billing
• Medical Assisting
The associate degree programs for Medical Office Management and
Medical Insurance Coding and Billing require students to complete
seven terms of coursework, mixing core industry-related content
with general education classes. The diploma for the Medical
Assisting program includes five terms of coursework, totaling 955
clock hours, rather than the industry-standard of 720. These
additional requirements are provided to give graduates the right
set of classroom learning and practical skills to be immediately
employable in the healthcare field.
"Healthcare employers have indicated that degrees themselves are
not always enough to meet the immediate needs of the growing
healthcare industry," said John Keim, Chief Academic Officer and
Provost for Westwood College. "Westwood College has tailored its
programs to ensure students have the specific training they need to
enter the workforce including the personal and professional skills
necessary to achieve career success."
Responding to California's significant needs for qualified
healthcare workers, the new School of Healthcare programs will be
available initially at all four of
Westwood's California campuses with expansion planned to
additional campus locations nationwide in future years. California
outpaces the national average in its demands for qualified
healthcare workers and demand for healthcare jobs is on track to
increase 27 percent from 2010 to 2020, compared to 19 percent for
all other job sectors in California***.
The first students enrolled in the program are expected to graduate
in March 2013. Individuals interested in any of the three
healthcare programs may learn more at
http://www.westwood.edu/programs/school-of-healthcare.
*Source: Centers for Medicaid & Medicaid Services, June
2012
**Source: Employment by major industry sector, U.S. Department
of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September
2012
***Source: "Healthcare State Report," Georgetown University
Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2012
About Westwood College
Westwood College is an institution of higher learning with 14
campuses located in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois and
Virginia. Westwood offers a hands-on, career-focused curriculum in
sought-after fields such as healthcare, technology and business.
Westwood is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for
Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) A 2012 survey conducted by
Noel-Levitz showed
Westwood students are significantly more satisfied than the
comparison group of approximately 125 public and private colleges,
particularly in the areas of course content, quality of instruction
and the school meeting their career goals. For more information,
visit http://www.westwood.edu.