Celebrating the first graduate of the Minor in Health Information Management
Introduction
The Health Information Management (HIM) minor is designed to introduce students outside of the HIM major to the critical role health information plays in healthcare delivery, data quality, patient care, technology, compliance, and decision-making. For students in fields such as statistics, public health, computer science, biological sciences, and other health-related disciplines, the minor provides a meaningful opportunity to connect their primary area of study to the growing need for accurate, ethical, and data-informed healthcare practice.
This year, we are proud to celebrate a special milestone: Isabel Kachappilly is the first student to graduate with the Health Information Management minor. Her achievement represents more than the completion of coursework. It marks the beginning of a new pathway for students who want to understand how health data, health records, information systems, and healthcare operations work together to support patients, providers, and organizations.
Isabel’s experience reflects exactly why the minor was developed. It gives students the opportunity to apply their existing strengths in a healthcare context while gaining hands-on exposure to tools, concepts, and real-world issues in health information management.
In Isabel’s own words: “As a Statistics major, the Health Information Management minor helped me bridge the gap between data and healthcare in a practical and meaningful way. I was able to apply my statistical modeling skills to real health data and gain hands-on experience through EHR simulations. The program also gave me the opportunity to present research on telehealth access disparities at the undergraduate research forum. What stood out most was the supportive and collaborative HIM students and professors. Ultimately, this minor strengthened my interest in health data analytics and prepared me to use data-driven decision-making to improve healthcare systems."
We are proud to recognize Isabel for her academic accomplishments and for setting the foundation for future students pursuing the HIM minor. Her success demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary learning and the important role health information management plays in preparing students to contribute to a healthcare system increasingly driven by data, technology, and informed decision-making.