ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Interoperability Institute (IOI), a 501(c)(3) organization designed to provide the products, services, leadership, and workforce to bring advanced interoperability solutions to the health information technology (HIT) market, has been awarded an AmeriCorps Planning Grant by the Michigan Community Service Commission.
The focus of this grant is to reinforce the work that IOI is presently undertaking to address the issue of Michigan's need for digital skill building of a diverse next-generation health IT and health informatics workforce. IOI and AmeriCorps, a national network of local, state, and national service programs, are working in collaboration to address this emerging need.
“We are thrilled to be recipients of the AmeriCorps Planning Grant and further develop the health IT workforce in Michigan,” said Mary Kratz, Executive Vice President of Interoperability Institute. “We are grateful for the partnership that we have with AmeriCorps and look forward to enhancing the work that we do to ensure that today’s students are prepared to become tomorrow’s leaders.”
IOI’s goal is to provide early career opportunities to address the talent gap in information technology and healthcare and ensure the supply of talent meets the current and emerging needs of the healthcare industry. That includes:
- Building career awareness at critical stages along the talent pipeline
- Establishing career pathways through college and university partnerships
- Providing intern and mentor programs to train individuals at any stage in their health IT career
“We currently have 60 students participating in the IOI workforce development program,” said Morgan Schrauben, Workforce Development Program Manager. “The experience that students get during their time with IOI closes gaps in the talent pipeline because the curricula is constantly informed by industry professionals to ensure that relevant competencies are included and interns are receiving valuable real-world experience. This, in turn, results in new graduates who are highly skilled and ready to join the workforce.”
IOI is working with academic partners, private sector companies and the Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) to solicit input into the proposed AmeriCorps Health IT program. This will ensure that the IOI’s training experiences complement curricula at Michigan colleges and universities, in addition to career placements with Michigan companies. IOI will also solicit input on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) from its partners to ensure that the AmeriCorps program follows best practices for recruiting college students from populations currently under-represented in fields related to health IT and health informatics.
Members of the planning grant project team will attend a two-day AmeriCorps training program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as monthly meetings and trainings hosted by the Michigan Community Service Commission.
For additional information or to learn more about IOI or its workforce development program, click here.
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About Interoperability Institute
Interoperability Institute focuses on creating communities and environments that accelerate the adoption of interoperability in ways that result in greater health and more impactful delivery of human services through developing solutions and the next generation workforce to enable organizations and communities to harness the benefits of interoperability at scale. The Institute is as a limited liability company with the Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) as the sole member. For more information, visit https://interoperabilityinstitute.org/.
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