PCC Notes: NJCAA recognizes PCC athletes for academic excellence

CHARLOTTE — The NJCAA released its annual All-Academic teams Monday to honor student-athletes at the nation's two-year colleges for classroom success, including 22 from Pitt Community College.

All told, the NJCAA recognized 10,267 student-athletes for recording an overall GPA of 3.60 or higher during the 2022-23 academic year. The criteria for inclusion on its three All-Academic teams were as follows:

All-Academic First Team: 4.00 GPAAll-Academic Second Team: 3.80-3.99 GPAAll-Academic Third Team: 3.60-3.79 GPA

Nine PCC student-athletes were among the 2,702 nationally to garner First-Team NJCAA honors, and nine more were part of the Second Team, which was comprised of 3,347 student-athletes. Four Bulldogs joined 4,113 of their peers in earning Third-Team recognition.

"The number of PCC student-athletes receiving high academic honors at the national level nearly doubled from last year," PCC Athletics Director Dawn Manning said. "It shows that our student-athletes are not only committed to achieving their athletic goals, they are pursuing academic excellence as well."

Manning says she is proud of Pitt's student-athletes for the hard work they've put in to succeed in the classroom and their respective sports. She said Pitt coaches and support team members "work tirelessly with student-athletes to create a culture of success by building character, creating relationships, teaching life skills and being part of a greater community."

Of Pitt's first-teamers, five were from baseball: Michael Gordon, Parks Ledwell, Caleb May, Matt Osterman and Martin Zelenka. Three volleyball players – Sara Daughtry, Dakota Newberry and Bailey Wood – were also on the First Team, along with softball's Brianna Knapper. May, Osterman, Wood and Zelenka had 4.0 GPAs through their two-year PCC careers.

Earlier this year, May and Newberry received PCC Student-Athlete Awards in recognition of academic achievement, good sportsmanship, and the positive impact they've had on their teams and community. May, an associate in arts major, and Newberry, an associate in science student, received their honors during the college's annual Academic Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Representing Pitt on the NJCAA's Second Team were baseball's Thomas Bowman, Ryker Galaska, Will Gervase, Will Walker, Hunter Whitten and Evan Wyrick. Softball's Samantha Taylor was a second-teamer, as were volleyball players Emily Fedderson and Lyndsay Williams. Four baseball players earned Third-Team honors: Landen Harris, Archie Herring, Landon Howard and Trent Pulliam.

In addition to announcing individual academic honors, the NJCAA also announced its 2022-23 Academic Teams of the Year this week. Nearly 1,100 teams posted a 3.0 GPA or better to earn the honor, including two from PCC: baseball and volleyball. Pitt baseball players recorded a 3.41 GPA, while volleyball posted a 3.17 GPA.

For PCC Baseball Coach Tommy Eason, emphasizing classroom success is a key part of helping players grow into model citizens. "Our program does it the right way, on and off the field," he said.

A total of 33 PCC student-athletes, representing all four of the college's intercollegiate athletic teams, graduated in May. Combined, the 17 baseball, nine men's basketball, four softball and three volleyball players recorded a 3.33 GPA.

A complete list of student-athletes and teams honored this week is available at njcaa.org.

Pitt adds short-term medical coding program

For the first time, PCC will offer short-term, non-credit instruction to prepare individuals for work as credentialed medical coders in various health care settings, including hospitals, physician offices, health consulting companies and health insurance agencies.

Pitt administrators say the new medical coding program is a collaborative effort between the college's existing Health Information Technology (HIT) and Medical Office Administration (MOA) programs. It was created in response to increasing digitization of health records, an aging population, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' projection of 7% growth in medical coding employment between 2021 and 2031.

"Medical coding is a fast-growing occupation that combines business and health care," said PCC MOA Instructional Coordinator Wanda Tenpenny. "It's an excellent option for people interested in health care careers that don't involve patient contact and others who prefer to work remotely, since these positions are often conducive for teleworking."

Tenpenny said medical coders assign diagnosis and procedure codes for patient care, population health statistics and billing purposes. They also serve as liaisons between health care providers, insurance companies and billing offices.

"Medical coders have an important role in health care reimbursement," Tenpenny said. "Though they don't provide direct patient care, they work with nurses and other health care workers to clarify diagnoses and get information needed for patient medical records."

PCC's new medical coding training consists of five or six 128-hour courses – depending on the student's desired coding credential – spanning a year. The first two courses are "Medical Billing and Coding I," which covers basic human anatomy and physiology for all body systems, and "Medical Billing and Coding II," which introduces students to electronic health records, managed health care, legal and regulatory considerations, claim form instructions and insurance plans.

Both continuing education courses will be offered online and run from Aug. 17 to Dec. 13. Tuition is $370 ($185 for each class), and students are also responsible for purchasing required textbooks.

The next two courses, "Medical Coding-Outpatient Services I (ICD-10-CM coding)" and "Medical Coding-Outpatient Services II (CPT and HCPCS coding)," will be offered online in the spring.

The final class, a coding credential exam prep course, will take place next summer and correlate with the student's desired coding credential, whether it's CPC (Certified Professional Coder), CCS-P (Certified Coding Specialist-Physician-Based) or CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) certification.

Students who complete PCC's medical coding program may be eligible to enroll in the HIT and MOA associate degree programs.

For more information on Pitt's new medical coding training, prospective students may contact PCC Workforce Licensure Coordinator Wendy Dunbar at 493-7528 or [email protected].