LaGuardia Community College Celebrates Graduates of Healthcare Finance & Operations Training Program
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (March 12, 2025) — LaGuardia Community College/CUNY recently celebrated the graduation of 26 New Yorkers from the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program. Formerly known as Medical Billing Specialist Training, this marks the 13th cohort to graduate from the program. The new name reflects an expanded focus on a broad array of non-clinical healthcare topics, such as revenue cycle and patient access coordination, designed to meet the needs of employer partners. The six-month program is offered tuition-free, designed and funded through a partnership with the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS).
The program began a decade ago when the Harvard Business School Club of New York’s Skills Gap Project connected LaGuardia and Weill Cornell Medicine to develop a certificate program to prepare underserved New Yorkers for specialized entry-level jobs in healthcare. Based on the success of an early pilot, SBS provided additional technical support, guidance, and grant funding to create the Medical Billing Specialist Training Program and the City of New York’s healthcare industry partnership, New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH), provided input on the program design. Shortly thereafter, Mount Sinai joined the endeavor, lending its knowledge and resources to the training program. Throughout the past 10 years, the program has continued to expand. Today the list of partners has expanded to more than half a dozen and includes Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, Northwell Health, and NYC Health + Hospitals.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Harvard Business School Club of New York for sparking our collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine, which has led to partnerships with Mount Sinai and additional leading health providers in New York. The guidance and funding from NYC SBS have been foundational. We also thank NYACH for its input,” said Sunil B. Gupta, Vice President of the Continuing Education Division at LaGuardia, which oversees the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program. “It’s a positive sign for the evolution of this program that after 10 years, it has been renamed as the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program. The new name reflects the many types of job opportunities open to students who complete this program.”
“The Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program is a powerful example of partnership and public investment working together to create economic opportunity for New Yorkers, while simultaneously meeting the needs of employers in a high-demand industry,” said SBS Commissioner Dynishal Gross. “SBS, LaGuardia Community College, the Harvard Business School of New York’s Skills Gap team and our committed healthcare employer partners are changing the economic futures of hardworking New Yorkers by connecting them with tuition-free training, mentoring and good-paying, entry-level jobs. With this foundation, I have no doubt that today’s graduates will build rewarding careers and achieve their goals.”
The Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program is specifically 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. Entry-level graduates can expect starting salaries ranging from $45,000 to $50,000, with opportunities for advancement.
At the event, graduates heard from SBS Commissioner Dynishal Gross and Katherine Wolf of HBSCNY.
Richard Nagengast, Vice President of Revenue Cycle for Mount Sinai, spoke about graduates of the Medical Billing Specialist Training Program from previous years who have moved up. “Most of the earlier graduates have already moved on from the original positions they were hired into and have been promoted to positions in analytics, IT, and management. That is quite a legacy.”
Isaac Guzman, a member of the 13th cohort, hopes to move up the ranks at Mount Sinai, where he was recently hired as a Billing Coordinator/ Payment Poster. Isaac, a New York City native who lives in Astoria with his wife, previously worked as a self-employed notary public and as a digital court reporter. Feeling like there weren’t opportunities for advancement or to have a positive impact on his community, Isaac sought educational programs that would train him for a new career. A web search led him to attend an information session about the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program. Today he’s excited about his future.
“I hope to learn the ropes at Mount Sinai and then keep learning as much as I can. 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,” said Isaac.
Graduates of the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program receive nine college credits, which they can apply towards an associate degree at LaGuardia.
“Since the program began in 2015, it has served almost 300. It has a graduation rate of 90%. Among graduates, 81% have been employed by one of our 10 participating employers. And after two years on the job, 84% have been retained in their positions and 30% have been promoted,” said Katherine Wolf, a leader of HBSCNY’s Community Partners’ Skills Gap Initiative. “Word has gotten out about the benefits of this program. Typically, over 1,500 express interest for each cohort.”
Karla Brown, 45, a member of the 12th cohort, was unsatisfied with a job in retail and searching for a new career when she applied to the Medical Billing program in 2023. Since completing the program, Ms. Brown, who lives in The Bronx, has worked as a Billing Coordinator at Mount Sinai. Her starting salary was 20% more than she made at her retail job.
“I am happy to work at Mount Sinai,” said Ms. Brown. “I am encouraged to think outside the box. Overall, I’m learning a lot every day and enjoy facing new challenges and overcoming them.”
Those interested in applying for the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program can find detailed course information here or by visiting laguardia.edu/medicalbilling. Information sessions are offered each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To register for an information session, scroll to the end of the course details webpage and click on “Register/Login Now.” Alternatively, select “Information Sessions” from the red column on the left side of the screen. For any questions, email medicalbilling@lagcc.cuny.edu.
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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.
About the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS)
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 888-SBS-4NYC, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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