The deadline is Jan. 14 for institutions of higher education or consortia thereof to apply for $10 million in grants to develop curriculum for the federal government's proposed health information technology workforce development program, HHS has announced.
The government will award up to five grants to support curriculum development to enhance programs of workforce training primarily at the community college level,” according to an HHS news release.
In addition, HHS has set Jan. 22 as the deadline for community colleges or consortia thereof to apply for $70 million in grants to start up the proposed six-month, nondegree programs that are expected to train up to 10,000 technicians a year.
The new tech workers are to help physicians install, use and maintain electronic health records systems subsidized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and to help physicians achieve the “meaningful use” requirements of the law.
Details about both funding programs are available at the
HHS Web site.
David Blumenthal, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS,
announced funding for the workforce development programs last month. Blumenthal said there is a need for 50,000 new tech workers in the healthcare industry.
