[ Outreach Center | Marketing Group | Cytotechnology Program ]

Terrebonne General Medial Center knows that the more you know about healthcare, the healthier you and your family will be. Because of that, we are committed to providing our community with various educational and support services like smoking cessation programs, cancer screenings, and information about how to stay healthy. Thank you for your support in these and other community service programs.

Terrebonne General Outreach Center (Located in Southland Mall) – (985) 876-7577

Education & Wellness

• Mommy and Me
• SHIIP (Free healthcare insurance information for Medicare recipients)
• Steps to Success (parental guidance for young mothers)
• Babysitting basics
• Mile-walker’s Club – The Outreach Opportunity Club
• CPR classes
• Cholesterol screenings
• Annual Flu shots (offered in the Fall)
• Blood pressure checks
• Glaucoma screenings
• Asthma screenings
• Diabetes screenings

Support Groups

• Diabetes support group
• Alzheimer’s caregivers support group
• CHADD (support for families of children with Attention Deficit Disorder)
• Bosom Buddies (Breast Cancer survivors)
• Kidney Options (Dialysis Support)
• Look Good, Feel Better Program – increase self-esteem with undergoing chemotherapy and other involved treatments

Please call TGMC Outreach for a complete list of services offered, as well as, requested information about a particular service or Speakers’ Bureau topic.

Terrebonne General Medical Center (Marketing Department) – (985) 873-4616

Education & Wellness

• Childbirth education classes – Such as Prepared Childbirth, Breastfeeding, Sibling and Infant Message Classes
• HealthWise Television Show – HTV 10
• Take Care Magazine – A magazine that addresses health care related issues (call to be added to complimentary distribution list)
• Med-Care + Club, newsletter for seniors
• TGMC health & wellness content website
• Wellness Program (businesses) – Dir. of Community Services 873-4626
• Health Risk Assessments (businesses) – Dir. of Community Services 873-4626
• Smoking Cessation classes
• Prostate cancer screening
• Breast self exam information

Support Groups

• Parents of hearing impaired children
• In-house rehabilitation patient and caregivers support group
• Camp Bluebird
• Reach to recovery
• Mental Health aftercare and support group
• Grief recovery group
• Cancer Survivors’ Day – held the first week in June each year to celebrate life and survivorship

Terrebonne General Medical Center & Nicholls State University Cytotechnology School - (985) 850-6299

Nicholls State University awards a Certificate of Completion to students who successfully complete the one-year curriculum in Cytotechnology. This program is a continuous 12-month specialized practice curriculum designed to provide didactic, laboratory, and clinical education necessary to become a certified Cytotechnologist. The program is a joint academic partnership between Nicholls State University and Terrebonne General Medical Center and is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) under recommendation of the Cytotechnology Programs Review Committee of the American Society of Cytopathology. The program will prepare students to diagnose cellular samples under the microscope for early detection of infectious, pre-cancerous, and cancerous diseases. Students will demonstrate the ability to examine samples from the female reproductive tract, breast, lungs, body cavity fluids, and other sites where early cancer detection has a demonstrated effect on morbidity and mortality. The program of study is designed to produce educationally sound and clinically competent cytotechnologists employable in rural and urban health care centers, private laboratories, and research facilities. Graduates will be eligible to sit for the National Registry Examination for cytotechnologists administered by the American Society of Clinical Pathology.

Cytotechnology
The Cytotechnologist, working under the direction of a pathologist, detects cellular changes caused by different disease processes. This laboratory specialist prepares cellular samples for examination after special staining techniques and then studies the slides under a microscope for minute abnormalities in the color, size, and shape of cell substances. In many cases these findings are the first warning signs of cancer. Cytotechnologists play in important role the whole aspect of patient care. Admission Students who apply for selective admission to the professional program of study will fall primarily into two categories:

1. Post Baccalaureate
   1. Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a minimum grade-point average of 2.50 on all under graduate work.
   2. Successfully complete the following undergraduate course requirements as specified by the American Society of Cytopathology, the accrediting agency for cytotechnology education programs:
      1. 20 hours of biology
      2. 8 hours of chemistry
      3. 6 hours of mathematics (algebra, trigonometry)
      4. one course each in: research methodology, medical terminology, management, and histology.
2. Enrolled in the B.S. degree program in Health Sciences (Specialized Practice Concentration-Cytotechnology-AHCT).
   1. Complete all prerequisite (pre-professional) course work.
   2. Earn a grade of C or better in all science course applied toward degree.
   3. A minimum GPS of 2.50.

Due to the nature of cytotechnology education and the requirements placed on education by the national accrediting agency, the academic, laboratory, and clinical experience hours may exceed those expected for credit awarded that course. Enrollment in the program is limited and the program admits only one professional class per year. Class size is limited to four (4) students per year and is governed by the number of faculty and available clinical slots in each of the affiliated laboratories and clinic settings.

For additional information

1. Visit the Nicholls State University Website at http://www.nicholls.edu/ahs/cyto/default.htm
2. Contact the Cytology Department at Terrebonne General at (985) 850-6299.
3. Contact the Department of Allied Health Sciences at Nicholls State University at (985) 876-8855.