The program is adapted from the United States Preventive Services Task Force guidelines and is targeted for both clinic and population based preventive health initiatives. The proposed model includes three levels of intervention in the clinical setting developed around the three levels of the preventive health model. A steering committee has been appointed and eight in-house health professionals have been selected to lead the initial clinic based modules that have been identified as high priority preventive health areas for our patients. A level I intervention involving traditional patient education through information distribution has been implemented using CD ROM software with terminals and printer access installed at each nursing station. A very successful Level III initiative involving weight control groups has been in place for one year.
Planning is also underway for the population based patient education project.
The Department of Radiologic Technology is also one of the Area Health Education Center's programs. Stanley Olejniczak serves as the program director. Twenty-three students from five classes have graduated since the program began in 1991. The program has also placed students in Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, Virginia, and Louisiana. Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville has hired five of our students including one student is who now a supervisor in the diagnostic imaging section.