Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH), located in Columbus, Ohio, is the country’s 4th busiest children’s hospital. Last year it provided care to nearly one million children who came from all fifty states in the USA and over 25 other countries. Four graduates from the $$Columbus Campus’s health information technology (HIT) degree program are now working at NCH assisting in the hospital’s efforts to provide world class care.
Natasha Johnson, Marvin Owusu, Sara Alleman, and Daniel Antwi all graduated from the Columbus Campus’s HIT program and received job offers after completing an externship at NCH. The American National University externs worked with Health Information Manager Theresa Nutter at NCH who also serves on the campus’s HIT Advisory Board that brings together community leaders and employers in the HIT field to ensure that the program continues to meet national standards and local workforce needs.
Ms. Nutter said she relates to the HIT graduates because, like many of them, she returned to the classroom as an adult to pursue her HIT degree and begin a second career after nearly twenty years in the mortgage industry. She has been with NCH since 2008 working in their HIM department. She attributes much of the students’ success to the teaching staff at American National University, particularly program director Gloria Livingston. “I met with Gloria a year ago regarding the placement of students,” she shares. “She has a real compassionate heart [for] her students’ education and a passion for the program. She visits [externship sites] frequently, follows up with emails, and genuinely shows concern for their success.”
“I hire American National University students for a number of reasons,” explained Ms. Nutter. “They have a great desire to learn, they are well mannered, ethical, enthusiastic, fun loving individuals who are very accepting of change and easy to work with. [They] are very fast learners, efficient, and work with minimal supervision.” She also noted that the externs who became employees all surpassed the hospital’s Standards of Productivity on a daily basis, “[They] are a great example for the department.”
The Columbus Campus chose NCH as the Employer of the Quarter Award because of their outstanding commitment to American National University students as well as their continued commitment to serve on the campus’s HIT Advisory Board. “NCH has become a wonderful community partner for the Columbus Campus and we are glad to give them recognition for helping to shape the lives of our students,” said Campus Director Joe DeLuca.
Pictured are (l to r) Marvin Owusu, Natasha Johnson, HIM Manager Thresea Nutter, Daniel Antwi, and Sara Alleman.
