November 2, 2011

 

 

The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at The Catholic University of America has received a portion of a $4,175,500 federal grant awarded to the University to educate health information technology managers in its master’s program in information technology.

 

The grant to CUA was one of several totaling $159 million announced by U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis at a press conference held at Catholic University on Oct. 4.

 

The announced awards were part of the first round of the H-1B Technical Skills Training Grant Competition. The program is designed to provide education, training, and job placement assistance in the occupations and industries for which employers are using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers for specialist occupations.

 

“We are excited to receive this H-1B Training Grant. The grant will provide scholarships to new students in 2012 and 2013 and enable us to work with hospital partners to provide valuable clinical experience to our students.” says Ingrid Hsieh-Yee, Interim Dean of SLIS.

 

“In partnership with the Metropolitan School of Professional Studies and the School of Nursing, we began this Health Information Technology program with a grant from the Department of Labor in 2010,” she adds.

 

“The program currently has 40 students from diverse ethnic, cultural, and subject backgrounds, including medicine, nursing, information technology, psychology, finance, and others. We have a strong Advisory Board that includes health information technology leaders from Children’s National Medical Center, Holy Cross, Providence, Howard University Hospital, and Sibley Memorial hospitals,” says Hsieh-Yee. 

 

President Barack Obama has called for electronic health records for all citizens to help stem the tide of rising health care costs, and a workforce with specialized preparation in health information technology is critical to health care reform, notes Hsieh-Yee.

 

“The master’s program at SLIS meets the pressing market need by preparing students to be health information technology managers,” she adds.

 

A portion of the grant will also go toward training students in the University’s bachelor’s, certificate, and competency development programs in health information technology offered through CUA’s Metropolitan School of Professional Studies (MSPS).

 

Health information technology topped the list of “10 Hottest Careers in America,” according to CBS’ Money Watch website. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects jobs in health information technology to increase by at least 20 percent in the next five to seven years.

 

The University’s partners in the project are the Center for Urban Progress at Howard University; Children’s National Medical Center; Holy Cross, Providence, and Sibley Memorial hospitals; the D.C. Department of Employment Services; and the D.C. Workforce Investment Council.