Applicant Name: Louisiana Primary Care Association Applicant Address: 503 Colonial Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70806 Project Director: Yvette Merritt Contact Phone: (225) 927-7662 Email Address: ymerritt@lpca.net Website: https://lpca.net/ Amount of funding requested: $2,200,000 A brief overview of the project: This proposal aims to recruit, educate, train and place Revenue Cycle Management staff in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Rural Health Centers (RHCs), and Critical Access Hospitals across twelve parishes in Louisiana. Project partners will develop and disseminate retention, sustainability, and health equity best practices. LPCA will build on its present partnerships across Louisiana to recruit, educate, train, and place Revenue Cycle Management staff. The Certifications for students proposed to be achieved with this project are Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Coding Associate (CCA), and Healthcare Access Associate. Courses will take place locally for trainees or online in partnership with Central Louisiana Technical Community College (975 contact hours for AAS degree) and Baton Rouge Community College (288 hours). A Capstone course and project will be required of all students. LPCA will develop this in cooperation with the network partners. Apprenticeship sites in FQHCs/RHCs/CACs will offer on-the-job training and mentoring. Trainees will have a 480-hour requirement. The Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center (CLAHEC) partnership will assist with student recruitment in underrepresented communities, apprenticeship placement, job placement, and continuing education programs. By educating Revenue Cycle Management staff, the project expects these newly certified students to be employed in high vacancy positions across twelve parishes and beyond. LPCA will share the strategies which have worked for them to make this highly trained and certified workforce a sustainable part of their member Health Center wo
rkforce. Project goals: This funding will allow 90 students to complete the program of study. Of the 90 trainees, 45 will be placed in apprenticeships, and 75 will find employment in the field after post-participation.