[November 2008]

Nine eastern Kentucky healthcare providers are finding that there is strength in unity, even in their highly competitive industry.

The companies have joined together in an innovative workforce-development-driven training consortium that will help them more efficiently train about 60 employees in medical coding. The classes—which will feature employees of all the companies training together in one place—recently got underway at the Big Sandy Community and Technical College (CTC) Mayo campus in Paintsville.

The consortium was initiated by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP) and Big Sandy Area Community Action Program (Big Sandy Area CAP), and is jointly funded by EKCEP and grants obtained through Big Sandy CTC.

Thanks to the collaboration and the grants, neither the companies nor their employees will bear any cost related to the training.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” said Ancil Lewis, CEO of Big Sandy Health Care, one of the participating companies. The company serves the Big Sandy region through clinics in Pike, Floyd, and Magoffin counties.

Lewis said coding—the practice of recording in code medical services that have been rendered—is “that critical link” between providing healthcare and being correctly reimbursed by insurance companies and Medicare or Medicaid.

Unfortunately, the coding process is complicated and mistakes can be costly. Incorrectly coded information can lead to problems during audits or even cause providers to have to return money to insurance companies.

But coding classes can also be demanding and expensive, so some healthcare providers have been trying to make do with fewer employees who are trained and certified in medical coding than they would prefer.

Deana Holbrook, Business Services representative with Big Sandy Area CAP, said the need for more coders was a common thread in her conversations with employers about ways Big Sandy Area CAP and EKCEP could meet their workforce needs.

She scheduled meetings and eventually secured the participation of some of the area’s best known healthcare providers, including: Big Sandy Health Care; the Appalachian Regional Healthcare’s (ARH) hospital in Morgan County; the ARH home health agencies in Morgan, Floyd, and Pike counties; St. Joseph Martin Hospital; Johnson/Magoffin Home Health Agency in Paintsville; Highlands Regional Medical Center in Prestonsburg; and Caney Creek Rehabilitation Complex in Knott County. For employer and employee reaction to the program, click here.

During that process, Big Sandy CTC agreed to partner to provide the coding training.

The majority of the training costs are paid by a Kentucky Workforce Investment Network System (Kentucky WINS) grant obtained by Big Sandy CTC. Normally WINS grants require an employer to pay the balance of the training costs. However, in this case EKCEP is contributing workforce development funds to cover the employers’ portion in full.

Although getting so many employers on the same page can cause some scheduling difficulties, Holbrook said doing so is much more efficient for training purposes.

It is also easier to secure one batch of funding for large, combined classes than a number of grants for several smaller ones, she said.

“We are always looking to serve more employers and more people,” Holbrook said. “What better way to do that than to group them together.”

Crawford Blakeman, EKCEP Business Solutions manager, agreed.

“There are several advantages to working with a consortium,” Blakeman said.

A consortium approach allows small employers who would not be able to populate a training class with only their employees to still take part in needed training, Blakeman said. If the training is highly specialized, large employers can benefit from joining a consortium even if they send just one or two employees to the training program, he added.

Training consortia are also more cost and time effective for employers, and they promote an atmosphere of cooperation, Blakeman said.

The consortium approach has also been a good fit for the goals of Big Sandy CTC, according to Dr. George Edwards, the college’s president.

“Big Sandy Community and Technical College is happy to partner with EKCEP in this endeavor,” Edwards said. “Providing trained, certified medical coders for our healthcare providers will benefit all of the citizens in the Big Sandy area. This is just one way (the college) strives to improve the healthcare of our citizens.”

Blakeman said EKCEP hopes to promote additional training-driven consortia such as this in the future.

“We would love to do more,” Blakeman said. “Whenever we can bring a large group of employers in the same sector together for the good of their employees and our region’s workforce, everybody wins.”

For more information about Big Sandy Area CAP and EKCEP's Business Solutions Services, contact Joyce Wilcox at 606-886-2948 or Crawford Blakeman at 606-436-5751.