Medical Assisting Certificate Program Re-Accredited

Medical Assisting Certificate Program Re-Accredited

January 23, 2020 |

The East Central College, Union, Medical Assisting Certificate program accreditation recently was continued after a peer review that recognized it for substantial compliance with national standards.

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) Board of Directors approved the re-accreditation Jan. 16. The program is evaluated through CAAHEP and the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).

“As always, we are striving to do our best and continue improving the program for the best interest of our students and to prepare them for an exciting medical assisting career,” said Adisa Velic, program director.

Velic added that there is significant demand locally in the medical assisting field and many ECC students have been employed in the community through externship as well as immediately after completing the program.

“This program has been a great success for us and re-accreditation is just a cherry on the cake,” she said.

According to Nancy J. Mitchell, MSN, RN, interim director of nursing and dean of health science, re-accreditation was accomplished through the hard work of the faculty and staff, along with community partnerships.

“Faculty and staff have worked diligently to provide the best quality programming and comply with nationally-normed standards to educate future certified medical assistants,” she said.

“We are appreciative of our local clinical partners as well,” Mitchell noted. “Without their continued partnership and collaboration, we would not be able to provide high-quality clinical experiences for our students. The re-accreditation status proves ECC’s commitment to continuous quality improvement.”

The next comprehensive evaluation of the program, including an onsite review, is scheduled to occur by the fall of 2023. The MAERB regularly monitors the program’s compliance through the annual report and other documentation.

The accreditation standards are established by CAAHEP, MAERB, American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), American Medical Technologists (AMT), and National Healthcareer Association (NHA).