On Friday, Hudson Valley Community College's Workforce
Development Institute announced it will partner with DeVry University to offer
a new Certified Coding Specialist-Physician course.
To introduce the new training
program, the Workforce Development Institute and DeVry University will be
offering an Open House and Information Session on Wednesday, Sept. 12, from 1
to 4 p.m. at the Albany Ramada Plaza Hotel, 3 Watervliet Avenue Ext., Albany.
The open house will provide details
about the training program, which will include drills and mock exams, and
preparation for the CCS-P exam, the certification exam for this field.
The event will be preceded by an
Industry Advisory Council meeting at 10am, where representatives from local
healthcare facilities will assemble to discuss training needs and industry
trends. These types of input-collecting initiatives may be unheard of for other
educational institutions, but they are business-as-usual for the Workforce
Development Institute, which prides itself on being responsive to the training
needs of the business community. "It's a format that we intend to keep
going with, to meet with businesses and find out what their training needs are
and build around that, instead of saying 'Here's what there is,'" says
Marlene LaTerra, Coordinator of Hudson Valley’s Workforce Development
Institute.
This marks the first time that the
two training institutions, which focus on fast-track career skills for individuals
and businesses in a variety of fields, have collaborated on a training
program.
"We wanted to bring a partner on
board like DeVry Institute, which has such a long-standing history of serving
the community," says Richard E. Bennett, III, Associate Dean for the
Workforce Development Institute. Hudson Valley Community College is the first
community college in New York State that has partnered with DeVry University,
and the school is looking forward to this new and innovative relationship,
Bennett says.
"We believe DeVry University is
uniquely attuned to the needs of the business community. Coding is going
through a transition in the next couple of years, a large transition, and we
want to make sure we prepare students for the current market, and also prepare
them for the future," says LaTerra.
The new Certified Coding
Specialist-Physician online course provides training for medical coders who
work in doctors' offices, hospitals, and clinics. According to the U.S.
Department of Labor, medical coding is one of the fastest growing fields, and
employment of these professionals is expected to increase by 21 percent between
2010 and 2020.
Median salary in 2010 was $32,350,
according to the Department of Labor.
The Workforce Development Institute
of Hudson Valley Community College provides career skills training programs in
a variety of fields, including Manufacturing, Business and Technical Writing,
Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy, Medical and Health Careers, and
others. Client-specific training is also available both on-site and at the
college.
The Workforce Development Institute
is part of Hudson Valley Community College, which was founded in 1953. The
community college offers more than 70 degree and certificate programs in four
schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and
Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic
and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of
New York system, it has an enrollment of more than 13,500 students, and is
known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training.
Hudson Valley has more than 65,000 alumni.
For more information about medical
coding course or to attend the upcoming open house or advisory council meeting
on September 12, please contact workforce@hvcc.edu or
call Marlene LaTerra at (518)
629-4835.
