South Students and Instructor named Northwest Kidney Centers' Volunteers of the Year
Medical Office Professional program instructor and intern coordinator Rebecca Yedlin has been named Northwest Kidney Centers' Volunteer of the Year. Photo by C.B. Bell.
Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC) has named South Seattle College instructor Rebecca Yedlin and a group of dedicated South students the 2016 Volunteers of the Year for providing medical office intern help to the non-profit organization that serves people with kidney disease.
For the past three years, students in South's Medical Office Professional (MOP) certificate program have interned at NKC under the guidance of Yedlin. This year, nine students from the program devoted over 1,500 hours, participating in office support and special projects that build their skills in billing, scheduling, coding and reception in preparation for the workforce. Their volunteer hours are invaluable to NKC's mission to provide optimal health, quality of life and independence for people with kidney disease.
"The interns are always eager to learn, and they leave with a better understanding of insurance needs for people with a chronic medical condition,” said Mary Grennan, patient finance supervisor for NKC, which is the world's first dialysis organization.
Yedlin, who acts as the MOP internship coordinator, oversees all the interns and makes sure each is successful. As an instructor, she teaches career development and professionalism to a wide array of students.
"Even though we're faculty, we take on the role of case manager and we get to know the students from a deeper level than in a traditional college class. Our students range in age from 18 and 19 to their 60s. Each quarter, 30 percent to 40 percent may speak English as a second language. They're from a variety of places, speaking Spanish, African and Asian languages."
Yedlin and her team not only provide internships, they also work with students to help them find jobs once they complete their education.
"The majority of the students who do well in the program and are motivated, within three to six months of completion (they) are working," she said.
Congratulations to Rebecca Yedlin and our amazing Medical Office Professional students for their well-deserved award! By helping the Northwest Kidney Centers in their vital mission, you are improving the lives of many people dealing with kidney disease.
Our thanks to photographer C.B. Bell and writer Cynthia Flash for contributing to this story.