Health Information Management Students Receive Scholarships

CINCINNATI—Seven students in the University of Cincinnati’s (UC) distance learning bachelor of science in health information management program have been awarded FORE Scholarships by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

The recipients of the FORE (Foundation of Research and Education of AHIMA) scholarships are Joann Blackwell (Cincinnati), Stacy Carlson (Rockford, Minn.), Mary Jo Carrion (Albuquerque), Bunnie Cobb (Cortland, Ohio), Barbara Dorr (Cincinnati), Polly Elmlinger (Cincinnati) and Deborah Rowan (Toledo, Ohio). Each scholarship is worth $1,000.

"The number of FORE Scholarship recipients is indicative of the high quality of students throughout the program,” said program director Gail Smith, MA. “It takes a tremendous amount of motivation to achieve such high levels of academic success while continuing with their careers and personal lives. They are already achieving the goals outlined by FORE and AHIMA by using what they have learned to increase the quality of health information management in their place of work.”

Each eligible application was reviewed by the FORE scholarship review committee. The committee rates applications based on the following criteria, in order of importance: grade point average and academic achievement, volunteer and work experience, commitment and suitability to the health information management profession, quality and suitability of references provided, and clarity of application.

The health information management program recently received accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Only students enrolled in accredited health information management programs are eligible to apply for FORE scholarships. The UC program is one of only 11 accredited undergraduate distance-learning programs in health information management.

CAHIIM accreditation allows students to take the national credentialing examination to become a registered health information administrator.

For more information about the health information management program, visit www.himonline.uc.edu.