More than 300 people applied for a two-month internship at Northwell Health’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) in Long Island, New York. Of the 33 accepted into the program, four are students at St. Joseph’s College.
The OCIO accepted two mathematics and computer science majors, one health administration major and one health care management (M.B.A.) major from SJC Long Island to serve in the office from June 11 to Aug. 17.
The IT Dream
Senior Katherine Wagner, a computer information technology major and psychology minor, is working within the Cardholder Data Environment (CDE) department at the OCIO. This department handles the CDE domain and their users.
“It was a huge honor to be accepted in this internship program,” Wagner said. “I believe that I am going to learn a lot throughout the summer and will have a better understanding of the health care and IT field in the real world.”
While working at an independent pharmacy in January 2015, Wagner learned about the computer system and began understanding the basics behind prescription billing. This led to her interest in the health care aspect of information technology.
“I decided to declare my concentration in Health Care Information Management to learn more about the health care system, specifically the hospital side of it,” said the East Quogue, New York, native. “I want to work in health care because even if I am on the technology side of it, I am still able to help people in many ways. This internship is giving me exposure to this, and I already enjoy it.”
Wagner is hoping to land a full-time job with Northwell Health after she graduates next May.
Health Administration Aspirations
Roberto Fontanez, who has a background in biology, is a graduate student pursuing his M.B.A. in Health Care Management with a concentration in Health Information Systems.
Whether it’s through directly improving the patients’ experience by offering them the very best in health care technology or by finding solutions to problems before they experience them, I believe I am called to help people and learn.” —Roberto Fontanez
“This internship is giving me the opportunity to work in Health Informatics (the massive collection of patient data) to do research and discover new ways of preventing patient infections,” Fontanez, 32, said. “I also get a great introduction to the technology that makes hospitals work.”
The Patchogue, New York, resident’s dream job is to lead innovation in health care, especially in terms of how technology advances our understanding of medicine.
“The health care field interests me because, as a Navy veteran, I discovered my greatest potential is in helping others,” he said. “Whether it’s through directly improving the patients’ experience by offering them the very best in health care technology or by finding solutions to problems before they experience them, I believe I am called to help people and learn.”
SJC Team
The other St. Joseph’s interns at Northwell this summer are Rory Glynn, a mathematics and computer science major, and Rebecca Logan, who is majoring in health administration. Both students are interning in Northwell’s Office of the Chief Information Officer this summer.
