MANCHESTER, NH – Responding to the crushing need for well-trained and qualified workers, Manchester Community College applied for and has recently received accreditation to help train the next generation of Health Information Management workers. MCC’s program is the only one in New Hampshire to receive recognition from the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). This national program is considered the leader in setting high standards among schools; graduates are aggressively sought after by health care providers.
“This is a major milestone for the college and for our program,” says Susan Huard, President of Manchester Community College. “We want prospective students to know they will get the absolute best possible training for this field. It’s not overstating things to say our graduates will ensure the health and well-being of countless patients because they will accurately track and record medical decisions to make sure doctors and nurses remain informed about each and every patient they serve.”
Unprecedented changes in healthcare have created an overwhelming and unmet demand for qualified medical coders. The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 51 percent increase in the need for medical coders during the next five years. In addition to medical reimbursement, coding is used for planning and research, to track diseases and by hospital administrators to determine if facilities are used effectively.
HIM students at MCC are immersed in a variety of courses including Medical Terminology, Medical Coding, Insurance and Reimbursement, and Legal Issues in Healthcare. “We have solidified relationships with numerous healthcare organizations to meet the needs of our students completing their professional practice experiences in a real-world setting,” explains Lisa M Legere, Professor and Program Coordinator for Health Information Management at MCC. “Our program offers an advantage of providing the precise training they need, in an on-the-job environment to maximize preparation for their careers.”
MCC’s HIM program has several affiliations with area health care providers, ensuring that graduates who leave the program will immediately enter the workforce locally, if they desire. The school has partnered with the following providers: Dartmouth Hitchcock-Lebanon, Manchester, Nashua; Catholic Medical Center; CMC-New England Heart Institute; Elliot Hospital; Community Bridges; Cottage Hospital; Exeter Hospital; Manchester Urology; Courville Communities: (Courville at Manchester; Aynsley Place; Carlyle Place); Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester; Manchester Community Health Center; Manchester Mental Health; Manchester Eye Associates; St Joseph’s Hospital; Southern NH Health System; and York Hospital (Maine).
Graduates of the MCC Health Information Management program are eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) national exam.
