Dean Jerris Hedges

Two of Hawai'i's largest clinical testing companies have pitched in to save the only professional training program in the field of medical technology in the state.

State budget cuts threatened to eliminate the medical technology training program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine. The school stopped taking new students into the program.

Diagnostic Laboratory Services and Clinical Laboratories of Hawai'i donated more than $100,000 to the program. The medical school is partnering with Kapi'olani Community College, too. Students can spend their first two years at Kapi'olani Community College's medical lab technician program. They can then spend another two years to earn a Bachelor of Science medical technology degree at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

UH medical school Dean Jerris Hedges said that the donations will ensure that there will be a continuous flow of trained technicians to work in Hawai'i's medical technology field. Medical technologists are vital in the health care industry. They draw blood and help perform tests in laboratories and hospitals around the state. The UH medical school's medical technology students have passed national board certification tests with scores of 100% for the last few years, significantly above the national average of about 80%.

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