Health Information Systems – (HCIS)

The HCIS department would like to congratulate two of the program’s recent graduates as 2023 global CAHIMS Minority Grant recipients. The HIMSS Foundation has partnered with the HIMSS Global Health Equity Network to offer this grant to help prepare underrepresented health information and technology professionals and students to attain the Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS) certification.

The HCIS department added 4 great additions to the Health Information Systems Advisory Board:

• Sean Roberts, University of Kansas Health System, Vice President of IT, Technology
• Jodi Busch, Cerner Oracle, Sr Director, Financial Alignment Executive
• Sharon Korzdorfer, St.Luke’s Health System, Director of Health Information Management
• Brandi Finocchario, Vibrant Health, Chief Administrative Officer

Medical Information & Revenue Management (MIRM)

Special Events

The MIRM/HCIS departments hosted the Greater Kansas City HIMSS organization on Thursday, January 19. This annual State of Healthcare event brought over 100 local healthcare IT professionals to campus. Chad Austin, President Kansas Hospital Association (KHA), and Jon D. Doolittle, President Missouri Hospital Association (MHA), discussed health IT initiatives at the state level. Hal Wolfe, President & CEO HIMSS, joined the event via Zoom (due to winter weather) to discuss the initiatives at the national level.

Significant Student Accomplishments

Six (6) MIRM students completed the Medical Coding Certificate program in December 2022. These students include: Lynn Crist, Tiffany Davis, Megan Livengood, Jennifer Meachem, Youngin (Clara) Park, and Karri Wibbenmeyer. Congratulations!

The following MIRM students successfully passed the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) credentialing exam in December 2022:

• Megan Livengood
• Karri Wibbenmeyer

This is a nationally recognized certification, awarded by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC).

Information Technology-Networking and Cybersecurity

The Information Technology-Networking department has 8 students participating in the National Cyber League (NCL) competition the Spring 2023 semester. Students compete nationally and refine critical skills in cryptography, password cracking, log analysis, and scanning.

The Information Technology-Networking department is partnering with Blue Valley School District to provide students with the opportunity to come to campus and complete the Cybersecurity Certificate as part of the Career Ready program. 21 students have expressed interest in the program for the Fall 2023 semester. The cohort in the Fall 2022 semester was 9 students—incredible interest growth!

Web Development and Digital Media – WEB

Community Engagement

The Recruitment office at JCCC hosted a Senior Day event on Monday, Feb. 20^th. Whitney Bandel joined Suzanne Smith, Dave Lingerfelt, Lori Brooks, and Andrew Lutz in speaking to high school seniors and providing information on the various departments within CSIT.

Health Information Systems – HCIS

JCCC HCIS alumna and current HCIS Adjunct Professor Nan Abbot passed the Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) exam sponsored by HIMSS. This credential demonstrates Nan has met an international standard of professional knowledge and competence in healthcare information and management systems and shows her commitment to continuing professional development.

JCCC hosted the Greater Kansas City HIMSS Chapter’s Annual 2023 State of Healthcare featuring HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf on 1/19. All JCCC HCIS and MIRM students were encouraged to attend where they would learn how healthcare is evolving, about legislative updates, and join the discussion of ideas on how to foster partnership and communication at the local, regional, and national levels.

Web Development and Digital Media – WEB

Fall 2022 Graduates – The Web Development and Digital Media department would like to congratulate the following students on their recent completion of certificate and degree: Tiba Albaldaway, Associate of Applied Science; Elizabeth Kapp, Web Development Certificate and Associate of Applied Science; Jacob Toomay, Associate of Applied Science.

Health Information Systems – HCIS

Adjunct Professor Nan Abbot and HCIS Advisory Board member and program mentor Amanda Cavner were selected to present HIMSS23 Emerging Healthcare Leaders Poster Session at the 2023 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition in Chicago held in April 2023.

The HCIS program was recognized by HIMSS, the health IT industry global professional organization, on the HCIS LinkedIn page. The HIMSS VP of Professional Development and the Director of Professional Development both made comments on a post. The HIMSS VP of Professional Development now follows the HCIS page.  The JCCC HCIS LinkedIn page has attracted 83 new followers this semester.

Fall 2022 HCIS internship update:

Remote internship with Atchison Community Health Clinic (FQHC)

• Assisted the COO with an EHR update.
• Completed cybersecurity project regarding the levels of EHR access per staff role and responsibilities

Remote internship with Saint Luke’s Health System

• 50% Observation & shadowing different departments, interviewing department supervisors, participating in meetings
• 50% Project: Data scrubbing/cleansing of SLHS database for appropriate document types

Remote internship with Vibrant Health

• Learned new a EHR and most recent systems updates
• Develop PowerPoint presentations on updates for different functions of the EHR for each of the different members of the healthcare team (RNs, medical assistants and administrators)

Information Technology-Networking and Cybersecurity

The Information Technology-Networking department hosted its Fall 2022 Cybersecurity Competition in the IT 239- Ethical Hacking course. The two winning students elected to receive CompTIA PenTest+ vouchers, which give them an attempt at the industry certification exam.

The Information Technology-Networking department is partnering with Blue Valley School District to provide students with the opportunity to come to campus and complete the Cybersecurity Certificate as part of the Career Ready program. We had a cohort of nine students begin the Fall 2022 semester, and seven will continue to the Spring 2023 semester. We also plan to start a new cohort the Fall 2023 semester.

Web Development and Digital Media – WEB

Visiting Lecturer

JCCC alumnus and WDDM Advisory Board member Edgar Esparza, from Dimensional Innovations, visited Whitney Bandel’s Emerging Technology course to speak to students about his personal experiences within the web development industry post-graduation as well as the latest technologies and projects that are being done at his current place of employment. Students learned about designing for touchscreen kiosk interfaces, projection mapping, physical microcontrollers and sensors, as well as using body tracking and depth sensing cameras to make interactive television displays.

Health Information Systems (HCIS)

HCIS students and employer partners, WellSky and Children’s Mercy, are participating in the CSIT Reverse Career Fair November 11, 2022.  The event is hosted by the JCCC Career Development Center.

Health Information Systems students participated in the virtual HIMSS Workforce Skills and Career Growth Open House.

Medical Information & Revenue Management (MIRM)

Conference Presentations and Accepted Publications

Amanda Kraus participated in the NISOD International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, May 30-31, 2022, in Austin, TX. Together with Lori Brooks, HCIS, Nan Abbot, HCIS, Jonathan Smith, program mentor, and Amanda Cavner, program mentee, the team presented Building an Academic Division & Professional Organization Mentorship Program: Program Model, Easy Implementation and Sustainability Steps. The presentation focused on the importance of partnering with a local professional organization, how to create a lasting program framework, and program maintenance/sustainability.

Local Recognition

Amanda Kraus has been elected to serve as the Membership Chair for the Greater Kansas City Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) chapter, 2022-2024. This organization works to improve the future of healthcare through connection, collaboration, and learning. Members represent healthcare facilities throughout the Greater Kansas City area, and include providers, vendors, facility IT, educators, and students, to name a few.

Special Events

Medical Coding Internship students participated in a StrengthsFinder workshop with Mary Brady from the Career Development Center on Monday, September 19, 2022. Students examined their “Top 5 Strengths” and learned how each strength coincides with a leadership theme. This class excels in Execution and Relationship Building – getting things done … nicely!

Faculty from MIRM and HCIS conducted a Health IT Bootcamp on Friday, September 23, 2022. This event brought students from Blue Valley, Louisburg, Paola, Shawnee Mission Northwest, and Spring Hill high schools to campus to explore the electronic health record (EHR) from both a patient- and provider-perspective, as well as learn about healthcare reimbursement.

Web Development and Digital Media – (WEB)

Student Employment

Alumni Patrick Hangauer has recently been employed as a Drupal Developer at Forum One.

Community Outreach

Whitney Bandel represented the Web Development department at the JCCC Virtual Networking Fair. She provided mentorship to students as they practiced their elevator speeches and answered industry related questions.

Medical Information & Revenue Management (MIRM)

MIRM 148: Medical Coding Internship students participated in the CSIT Reverse Career Fair on Friday, April 22, 2022. Students met with employers and/or JCCC instructors and had the opportunity to practice their interview skills, including sharing of their “elevator pitch,” resume, and LinkedIn profiles. Students concluded the event with much-appreciated advice – and a few with requests to apply for positions!

MIRM faculty participated in the KCKPS CTE Spring Advisory Meeting on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. CTE initiatives and pathway highlights from the 2021-2022 academic year were shared, including presentations by KCKPS students!

MIRM faculty participated in the JCCC STEM Retreat on Thursday, May 19, 2022. Amanda Kraus (MIRM department chair) and Lori Brooks (HCIS department chair) presented a poster presentation re: the Health IT Career Mentorship Program. This program began as a Carl Perkins grant in 2019, connecting new HCIS and MIRM students with local industry professionals. It continues as a semester-long program, creating individualized opportunities for students – and setting them up to appreciate the benefits of career mentorship and professional networking throughout their educational and professional career.

Seven (7) MIRM students completed the Medical Coding Certificate program in May 2022. These students include: Jeanan Brown, Jessica Davis, Jaleh Esfandiary, Chelsea Long, Katherine Mendonsa, Amelie Scheller, Hasina Shahadara. Congratulations!

Information Technology-Networking and Cybersecurity

Faculty member Andrew Lutz will be presenting at the CAE Symposium in June on Establishing New K-12 Pathways. The department recently developed a pathway with Blue Valley Schools. The pathway provides students the opportunity to complete the JCCC Cybersecurity Certificate program tuition-free alongside their high school education. Successful students will receive both their diploma and Cybersecurity Certificate upon graduation from high school.

The department has partnered with Microsoft to join the Microsoft Learn for Educators Program (MSLE). MSLE provides academic institutions access to official curriculum and teaching tools. Through our Imagine Academy status and MSLE, we are offering our students official Microsoft curriculum and labs this Fall 2022 semester at no cost.