When she graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden last year, Rosemary Irizarry’s future was uncertain. The tech-savvy teen, often an honor-roll student, couldn’t afford her dream school — Stockton University.
“I put money into my savings, then decided to take a break for a semester and find out what I wanted to do, because I felt pressure,” said Irizarry, 19, of East Camden.
But a year later, she has a promise of employment as a medical coder, thanks to a jobs program involving Camden County College, local nonprofits such as Hopeworks, and the county’s largest employer, Cooper University Health Care.
Launched in September with 13 students, the initiative allows high school graduates and GED-holders — some loaded with other jobs and coursework — to earn a 39-credit medical-coding certificate at their own pace. For most, the program will take 15 to 18 months to complete and include a mix of in-person and online courses.
Afterward, students are guaranteed a full-time medical-coding job with Cooper University Health Care starting at $13.64 an hour. Full benefits are offered 90 days into employment.
“The more they explained the program to me, the more I enjoyed it,” said Irizarry, a Camden County College student and chemistry and medical-coding double major. A month into the program, she said, she’s starting to make flashcards to help her memorize complicated medical terminology and their corresponding codes.
County and state officials, along with top hospital and college administrators, gathered in a 10th-floor Cooper University Hospital boardroom overlooking downtown Camden to praise what the program means for youths in a city with nearly 20 percent unemployment and a median household income of just $25,000.
The certificate costs $12,000 per participant, but that cost is covered by public and private funding and the program is free to students, who must be Camden residents.
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