Health Information Management / Health Informatics

The Healthcare Technology and Administration (HTA) industry is rapidly evolving and expanding in response to the proliferation of new technology applications in all sectors of healthcare. 

From the onset of this collaboration, this team came together to form productive relationships in the industry as well as with our education partners. Through our exploration, research, and analysis of this expanding industry, we began to map out various entry points for individuals to receive numerous certifications and industry credentials, non-credit and credit degree options and industry experience in Health Information Management and Health Informatics through the Centers of Workforce and Innovation (CWI) pathways.  

Through Essex County College’s (ECC) dual enrollment agreements with high schools and Essex County Schools of Technology, (ECST) we were able to showcase the many career opportunities and salary levels associated with current and future markets in Health Information Management Systems (HIMS).  This collaborative partnered with the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS).  HIMSS gathered data on the NJ Health IT Labor Market which will be rolled out to high schools in the imminent future in detail to give them a better understanding of the industry sector and its needs. Our ongoing discussions will lend to create several pathways for high school students to earn credit towards an associate degree.  The most immediate associate degrees are in Computer Science and General Science, but in the near future, Data Science, and Health Information Technology will also be a viable option. 

This collaborative enabled us to review our existing Health Information Technology (HIT) AAS degree and hold discussions with Rutgers and our ECC faculty to determine if this degree in its current state would have transferability to Rutgers HIM degree. We were confronted with several articulation difficulties because our Health Information Technology program is an Associate of Applied Science degree.  Such AAS degrees are not intended for transfer and lack a sufficient number of General Education courses by design.  We concluded that ECC’s current HIT AAS would not transfer to four-year institutions. (Rutgers Health Information Management BS). Thus, we resolved that the most viable ECC associate degree to transfer to Rutgers HIM degree with ease and expediency of articulation would be to use our existing General Science – AS degree. This would create a seamless pathway leading into the Rutgers School of Health Professions – Health Information Management BS degree. In the future, we will consider creating a new HIT AS degree to develop a wholistic and integrated curriculum with academic certificate. In the Spring, Essex anticipates offering two new online non-credit HIMSS courses: CAHIMS non-credit Health IT Foundations and non-credit Introduction to Healthcare Data Analytics. 

Progressing in this collaborative resulted in HIMSS registering to become a US-DOL Sponsor for Health Information Technology Specialists, intending to launch pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs in New Jersey.  HIMSS is in the process of engaging Dell Technologies and SHI as possible new industry partners in 2023. 

This initiative has enabled both Brookdale and Essex to build stronger relationships between their non-credit and credit departments removing barriers in coordination, communication, and collaboration to facilitate pathway development and student progression between non-credit certificate and degree programs.