Azalea Health will award up to two (2) senior students of the Wiregrass Georgia Technical College's Health Information Technology program $500 of funding to take the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) exam. 

In recognition of the Wiregrass Georgia Technical College's (Wiregrass) Health Information Technology (HIT) program and its dedication to the advancement of the HIT industry, Azalea Health (Azalea) will award a scholarship of $500 to up to two senior students per semester who exhibit exemplary academic behavior. The scholarship funds will be put towards the fee to take the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) exam. The RHIT exam will enable program graduates to gain national certification in the field, and increase the graduate's marketability for employment in the healthcare information technology industry.

Azalea works closely with Wiregrass in multiple ways: Azalea’s CEO serves on Wiregrass' Foundation South Board of Trustees, and both CFO and CEO serve as Technical Advisors for the HIT program, which received accreditation in October of 2012. Wiregrass Executive Director for Institutional Advancement & Foundation South, Dr. Penelope Schmidt, explains what Azalea's guidance and scholarship opportunity means to the program:  “Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Foundation South is grateful for this very generous scholarship offered by Azalea for HIT students.  Azalea has been an outstanding partner to Wiregrass by advising our faculty on the development of the HIT curriculum, hiring our graduates, and now offering this scholarship to help students obtain their professional credential of Registered Health Information Technician.  We are so appreciative for this scholarship and the ongoing partnership with Azalea. “

Azalea has hired numerous graduates of the HIT program at Wiregrass due to the high level of training students receive throughout the program. Azalea CFO, Douglas Swords, speaks about the importance of preparing the future workforce: "The HIT industry in is need of a trained and highly skilled workforce to continue to excel in today's healthcare systems. We applaud Wiregrass for creating a local solution for our community's medical environment and will continue to support this initiative through the Azalea Health HIT Scholarship." 

The scholarship will be available to senior students in the Spring Semester of 2013. Applicants must be a full-time student at Wiregrass and have a minimum of 3.30 GPA. To learn more information regarding the Azalea Health Scholarship, please contact the Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Foundation South.