NYC SBS Celebrates Workforce Development Month with Healthcare Finance and Operations Graduation Ceremony at LaGuardia Community College
Addressing Critical Demand for Healthcare Workers
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (October 1, 2025) — LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, in partnership with the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), celebrated the conclusion of National Workforce Development Month on September 30 with a graduation ceremony for the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program. The graduation was for Cohort 14—the largest in the decade-long history of the program, which boasts a job placement rate of nearly 90%. The program, along with the NCLEX-RN for English Language Learners (ELL) initiative, reflects the shared commitment of SBS and LaGuardia to connecting New Yorkers to high-paying jobs in fast-growing industries, like healthcare, regardless of education and economic background.
The graduation follows a recent milestone announcement of more than 81,000 New Yorkers connected to good paying jobs and more than 250,000 New Yorkers served through SBS’s 18 Workforce1 Career Centers since the start of the Adams administration.
“SBS is committed to delivering workforce training programs that meet employer needs and change participants’ professional trajectories,” said SBS Commissioner Dynishal Gross. “Health systems rely on quality operations, billing, nursing, and paraprofessional staff to function. These roles are not just critical to the industry—they also offer a solid career ladder and opportunity for growth for New Yorkers pf all backgrounds. SBS is grateful to our partners across the healthcare industry, LaGuardia Community College, Lehman College, and the Harvard Business School Club of New York for their commitment to this program.”
“We are immensely grateful for SBS’s partnership, which allows us to offer training programs that help New Yorkers launch healthcare careers and fill critical skills gaps—both as frontline clinicians and essential behind-the-scenes professionals,” said Sunil B. Gupta, Vice President of Adult Continuing Education and Workforce Development at LaGuardia. “Programs like NCLEX-RN for ELL and Healthcare Finance Operations not only meet industry needs. They transform lives.”
The announcement coincides with Workforce Development Month, a monthlong celebration of citywide workforce development programs and initiatives, highlighting the Adams administration’s efforts to ensure that opportunity is available to all New Yorkers, in every borough, block, and neighborhood; and uplifting the city’s commitment to make New York City the best, most affordable place to raise a family.
About the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program
The Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program is a tuition-free program designed for low-income New Yorkers with a high school diploma or equivalent and interest in training for non-clinical positions with New York City’s top hospital systems. This six-month program prepares low-income New Yorkers for entry-level roles in healthcare finance, such as revenue cycle and patient access coordination.
Today marked the graduation of Cohort 14, which continues the tradition of diversity and determination seen in previous groups. With a 97% completion rate, this cohort includes participants from Hispanic, Black or African American, Asian, and multiracial backgrounds, speaking eight languages including Tagalog, Korean, Nepali, and Arabic. Approximately 38% hold bachelor’s degrees, while others bring varied educational experiences. Many are parents or homemakers who have shown exceptional commitment, resilience, and engagement throughout the program, despite ongoing challenges such as access to childcare.
Recent cohorts have maintained strong outcomes, with completion rates ranging from 89% to 92% and job placement rates between 83% and 87%. Cohort 14’s job placement rate is currently being finalized.
The Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program, formerly known as Medical Billing Specialist Training, began a decade ago through a partnership between LaGuardia, Weill Cornell Medicine, and the Harvard Business School Club of New York’s Skills Gap Project. Following the success of an early pilot, SBS provided additional technical support, guidance, and grant funding, and the New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH) provided input on the program design. It has since expanded to include major partners including Mount Sinai, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, Northwell Health, and NYC Health + Hospitals.
Isaac Guzman graduated with Cohort 13 of the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program. He now works at Mount Sinai as a Billing Coordinator and Payment Poster and plans to put the nine college credits he earned for completing the program toward a potential associate degree at LaGuardia.
“I want to keep learning as much as I can,” said Guzman. “I would like to go back to school, at least part-time, to get certifications and any other degrees that would be useful, such as a bachelor’s in healthcare administration. After that, I hope to move to a managerial role and make sure I keep learning, hopefully even getting a master’s degree.”
Individuals seeking to apply to the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program should fill out an interest form here. For more information, visit laguardia.edu/HealthcareFinance or email medicalbilling@lagcc.cuny.edu.
About NCLEX-RN/ELL
Open to New York City residents with nursing-equivalent degrees from countries outside the United States who are currently earning $40,000 per year or less, the NCLEX-RN/ELL program helps internationally trained nurses with the essential skills and knowledge needed to successfully pass the NCLEX-RN exam, obtain nursing licensure in New York State, and secure positions in hospitals and clinics across the city. As of 2024, nurses who complete the SBS NCLEX-RN/ELL training program and subsequently pass the exam can expect to more than double their pre-license income, with average salaries exceeding $100,000. At LaGuardia, the program is offered through the NYC Welcome Back Center.
When Yamel Polanco first moved to the U.S. from Santiago, Dominican Republic, she tried on her own to validate her academic credentials that she’d earned from the Technological University of Santiago (UTESA). She kept coming up against roadblocks and instead found low-wage jobs in fast food and as a home health aide.
“A friend told me about the program LaGuardia offers to help people like me who want to return to our careers. I contacted them through SBS’s Workforce1 Career Center,” said Polanco, a Registered Nurse (RN) at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and 2024 NCLEX-RN/ELL graduate. “After taking the entrance exam, I entered the program. What I enjoyed most was the program itself—the harmony among the staff and their constant encouragement. Returning to the work I love is the best thing that’s happened to me—especially doing it for the city that’s given me so much. It’s all thanks to LaGuardia and the NCLEX-RN/ELL program.”
For those interested in LaGuardia Community College’s part-time, evening courses, applications can be submitted here. For more information, visit laguardia.edu/WelcomeBackCenter, call (718) 482-5460, or email nycwbc@lagcc.cuny.edu.
Similarly, those interested in Lehman College’s full-time, morning/afternoon courses can apply here. Both colleges accept applications on a rolling basis.
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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 associate degrees and academic certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to prepare New Yorkers for transfer to senior colleges and rewarding jobs and careers. An institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of the underserved. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students from Queens, NYC and beyond.
Lehman College is the City University of New York’s only four-year college in the Bronx, serving the borough and surrounding region as an intellectual, economic, and cultural center. Lehman provides undergraduate and graduate studies in the liberal arts and sciences and professional education within a dynamic research environment. With a diverse student body of more than 14,000 students and more than 81,000 alumni, Lehman offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs. Ranked as having the fourth highest mobility rate in the nation by the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Equality of Opportunity Project, Lehman is a proud catalyst for economic and social mobility for its students, almost half of whom are first generation college students.
The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) helps unlock economic potential and create economic security for all New Yorkers by connecting New Yorkers to good jobs, creating stronger businesses, and building vibrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs. For more information on all SBS services, go to nyc.gov/sbs, call 311, and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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