Charter Oak hires Dr. Frank M. Valier as Coordinator of new Health Information Management program

Charter Oak State College building

Charter Oak State College has hired Dr. Frank M. Valier as its new Health Information Management (HIM) Program Coordinator. The College is launching its first major, an online bachelor's degree completion program in Health Information Management, later this fall, pending approval from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The program received approval from the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education in the spring.

Dr. Valier has over 30 years of experience in the IT field as an entrepreneur and consultant to various organizations. His most recent research is titled "The Adoption of EMR/HER by Board Registered Physicians in the Springfield, MA MSA: Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties."  He is an adjunct professor at various institutions and teaches courses in the American Healthcare System and Healthcare Information Technologies.

"We are looking forward to implementing a dynamic and innovative HIM program at the College that will provide opportunities for many individuals to join the newly developing healthcare work force of the 21st century," Dr. Valier said. "Charter Oak has committed the resources and staff to see this dynamic effort through to the end."

Developed by licensed practitioners and experts in the field, the B.S. in Health Information Management prepares graduates to sit for the RHIA (Registered Health Information Administrator) licensure exam. Students will graduate from this online program equipped with the skills to develop, maintain and enforce organizational policies, procedures and guidelines for the management of health information and health information technology systems, as well as to manage, maintain, update, modify and purge healthcare data in accordance with organizational policies and state-specific Statute of Limitations. The curriculum, which was developed in response to a growing demand in the field, includes ICD-10-CM and CPT-4 coding schemes for reimbursement of healthcare services.

The College made the decision to construct its first full major in the field of health information management after considerable market research.