Congressman Gerry Connolly recently speaking at GMU in Fairfax. He is scheduled to appear at NOVA on Monday. Photo by: KJ Mushung

The Medical Education Campus of Northern Virginia Community College will hold an event to honor Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th) and to thank him for his role in securing a Department of Education grant for NOVA’s Clinical Data Coding & Health Information Management Programs. The event will be held Monday, Nov. 19, from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at NOVA’s Medical Education Campus, 6699 Springfield Center Drive, Springfield.

The $500,000 grant from the “Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Higher Education” was awarded to NOVA in 2010 and resulted in seven Patient Administrative Specialists; 29 Clinical Data Coding Specialists; and 29 Associate in Applied Science degrees in Health Information Management being awarded.

NOVA currently has two programs for students interested in pursuing careers in Health Information Management. The Associate in Applied Science (AA.S) degree prepares students for a career in the field of Health Information Management. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) and is sponsored by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Following completion of the program, students can seek certification as a Registered Health Information Technologist (RHIT).

NOVA also offers a rigorous certificate in Health Information Technology (HIT) for mid-career professionals with experience in either Information Technology or Healthcare. This certificate exists to ensure qualified personnel exist to meet a federal requirement that all medical records be in electronic form by the year 2015. As a result, this program is fully grant-funded. All students attend tuition free, with all books and program expenses paid for by a federal grant under the Office of National Coordinator (ONC).

NOVA’s Clinical Data Coding program is designed for persons who seek entry-level employment as clinical data coding specialists in health care organizations. Clinical data coding specialists are in demand across the spectrum of healthcare organizations including hospitals, medical offices, insurance companies, managed care organizations, contracting groups and accounting firms. Graduates of the certificate program are eligible to take one of three national certifying examinations administered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) to become a Certified Coding Associate (CCA), Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) or Certified Coding Specialist-Physician Office Setting (CCS-P).

By: Contributing Author

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