At a glance
Lisa Meaney, Victor, a senior in the health information technology program at Alfred State College, was recently awarded a $1,000 Bright Future Scholarship by the AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) Foundation.
Lisa Meaney, Victor, a senior in the health information technology program at Alfred State College, was recently awarded a $1,000 Bright Future Scholarship by the AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) Foundation.
This award, established by gifts from past scholarship recipients, is one of 35 distinct merit scholarships awarded by the organization to students currently enrolled in health information management programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). Three levels of scholarships are offered: $1,000 for an HIT AA degree student; $1,200 for an HIA BA/BS degree student; and $2,500 for a credentialed professional pursuing a master or doctoral degree in an area related to HIM practice.
In 2010, 146 students submitted applications; out of that pool, 72 qualified candidates received scholarships for an award total of $94,650. The 2010 award recipients included two PhD candidates, nine master degree students, 23 bachelor degree students, and 38 associate degree students. The GPAs (grade point average) of those awarded scholarships ranged from 3.25 to 4.0, with an average GPA of 3.8 (out of a possible 4.0).
The AHIMA Foundation is the philanthropic and charitable affiliate of AHIMA (the American Health Information Management Association). The Foundation was established in 1962 as the nonprofit entity of AHIMA as its sole corporation. Initially dedicated to procuring books for the AHIMA library and to providing loans to health information management (HIM) students, today, the AHIMA Foundation strives to be the premiere resource for HIM professionals and the leader in advancing the field for the betterment of the HIM profession and the healthcare consumers they ultimately serve.
One of the major initiatives of the AHIMA Foundation is to attract and support new talent in the HIM (health information management) industry by improving the educational opportunities for future HIM professionals through scholarships.
The American Health Information Management Association, founded in 1928 to improve the quality of medical records, is the premier association of health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA's more than 57,000 members are dedicated to the effective management of personal health information required to deliver quality healthcare to the public. AHIMA is committed to advancing the HIM profession in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning. Quality health information management is essential to all aspects of today's healthcare system, ensuring the availability of health information to facilitate real-time healthcare delivery and critical health-related decision making for multiple purposes across diverse organizations, settings, and disciplines.