Toolwire and Midwest Consortium Partner to Deliver Health Care Training Solution

PLEASANTON, Calif., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Toolwire (www.toolwire.com), a global leader in experiential learning solutions and recent double Gold Medal Winner at the Institute of IT Training Awards, has announced a new initiative with the Midwest Community College Health Information Technology Consortium (http://www.mwhit.org/) to provide Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementation training at 17 of the largest and most innovative colleges across 10 Midwest states.

Toolwire and the consortium have partnered to address a pressing need in the job market and health care marketplace –the training of thousands of people to work in the growing field of health information technology (HIT).  The consortium will recruit and train a minimum of 2,700 health career and information technology professionals and students annually.  

The Midwest HIT program will use a combination of online and campus-based learning that will focus on industry-specific technical knowledge as well as professionalism, customer-service and leadership skills that support success in the health care environment.  As part of their technical instruction, all students will learn how to use the Veteran's Health Information System and Technology Architecture (VistA) system.  One of the most widely used EHR's in the world, VistA is used by nearly half of all US hospitals that have a full EHR implementation.

A unique and exciting aspect of this program is how students will access VistA.  Using Toolwire's StudentDesktop technology, students will have instant, unscheduled access to VistA via a web-enabled browser configured specifically for each student.  By eliminating the need to install and maintain VistA software, this innovative solution will enable the consortium to lower costs, scale faster, and provide a more reliable training solution that actually makes it easier for instructors to track student progress.

"Though we consider the classroom a critical part of the learning process, there is no substitute for providing students the opportunity to practice on real equipment and learn through trial and error in 'virtual sandboxes' where the consequences of mistakes are low and the potential for sparking 'teachable moments' is high," said Norma Morganti, Executive Director, Midwest Community College HIT Consortium.

"Health care education is substantially enhanced when we provide students with experiences that reflect the actual roles supporting health information technology that exist in the workplace, and Toolwire's track record of success delivering online experiential learning solutions made it the perfect choice for this project," commented Dr. Patricia Gray, Vice President of Health Education Initiatives at Cuyahoga Community College, which is the lead institution for the federal funds awarded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to create the consortium.

John Valencia, Toolwire's President and CEO said, "Toolwire is honored to work with the consortium on this groundbreaking initiative in the field of healthcare technology training. We strongly believe that the best way for students to learn is to do, and this application of our StudentDesktop technology is the ideal fit.  It just goes to show that when two innovative organizations collaborate effectively, the result can be very powerful. "

About Toolwire 

Toolwire is a learning solutions provider specializing in products and services for experiential learning. Toolwire's StudentDesktops, LiveLabs, Scenarios, and Immersive Learning Environments provide on-demand, personalized practice that meets the dynamic needs of the learner. "Learning by doing" provides the quickest and most effective way to develop skills and ensure ongoing learning, knowledge retention, and competency. Toolwire's award winning solutions "bring knowledge to life".  For more information, please visit www.toolwire.com.

About The Midwest Community College Health Information Technology Consortium

The consortium is addressing a pressing need in the health care job market by recruiting and training people for the growing field of health information technology (HIT), also called health informatics. The HIT consortium provides training in six work force roles to support electronic health records implementation and consists of 17 large innovative community colleges in 10 Midwest states. Through leading-edge curriculum and a program consisting of both campus-based training and distance learning, the consortium's goal is to recruit and train a minimum of 2,700 health informatics professionals and students annually. For more information, please visit http://www.mwhit.org.

SOURCE Toolwire