BCC part of program to train workers for electronic records

FALL RIVER – Bristol Community College is one of 23 community colleges that will participate in a $16 million federal grant program over two years to educate up to 7,500 health care information workers in 12 states.
BCC is the only community college in New England to win a grant and will provide services in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire through the grant.
Qualified students will receive free, online training ahead of the federal mandate to keep medical records electronically by 2015.
The problem: The government says there are not enough trained professionals to make the transition. In the Bay State alone, a projected 5,000 to 10,000 skilled workers are needed in the next four years to fulfill the mandate for electronic records.
BCC is using its health care information degree program to address the critical need to provide skilled professionals who can modernize and manage electronic health records.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. &#8226