SBS Celebrates Workforce Development Month with Healthcare Finance and Operations Graduation Ceremony at LaGuardia Community College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

SBS CELEBRATES WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MONTH WITH HEALTHCARE FINANCE AND OPERATIONS GRADUATION CEREMONY AT LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Ceremony Follows Milestone of 250,000 New Yorkers Served at SBS Workforce1 Career Centers

Program Builds on Administration's Commitment to Address Critical Demand for Healthcare Workers

NEW YORK - Today, the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) celebrated the conclusion of National Workforce Development Month at the City University of New York's (CUNY) LaGuardia Community College (LaGuardia) campus with a graduation ceremony for the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program. The program, alongside the city's NCLEX-RN for English Language Learners (ELL), reflects SBS's commitment to connecting New Yorkers to high-paying jobs in fast-growing industries, like healthcare, regardless of education and economic background. The graduation follows a recent milestone announcement of more than 81,000 New Yorkers connected to good paying jobs and more than 250,000 New Yorkers served through SBS's 18 Workforce1 Career Centers since the start of the Adams administration.

"The healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic in our city," said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión Jr. "Our administration's investments in the next generation of nurses as well as healthcare support professionals reflect areas of industry growth and need and connects thousands of New Yorkers to greater economic opportunity for themselves and their families."

"SBS is committed to delivering workforce training programs that meet employer needs and change participants' professional trajectories," said SBS Commissioner Dynishal Gross. "Health systems rely on quality operations, billing, nursing, and paraprofessional staff to function. These roles are not just critical to the industry - they also offer a solid career ladder and opportunity for growth for New Yorkers of all backgrounds. SBS is grateful to our partners across the healthcare industry, LaGuardia Community College, Lehman College, and the Harvard Business School Club of New York for their commitment to this program."

"We are immensely grateful for SBS's partnership, which allows us to offer training programs that help New Yorkers launch healthcare careers and fill critical skills gaps-both as frontline clinicians and essential behind-the-scenes professionals," said Sunil B. Gupta, Vice President of Adult Continuing Education and Workforce Development, LaGuardia. "Programs like NCLEX-RN for ELL and Healthcare Finance Operations not only meet industry needs. They transform lives."

The graduation coincides with Workforce Development Month, a monthlong celebration of citywide workforce development programs and initiatives, highlighting the Adams administration's efforts to ensure that opportunity is available to all New Yorkers, in every borough, block, and neighborhood; and uplifting the city's commitment to make New York City the best, most affordable place to raise a family.

About the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program
The Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program is a tuition-free program designed 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. This six-month program prepares low-income New Yorkers for entry-level roles in healthcare finance, such as revenue cycle and patient access coordination.

The program, formerly known as Medical Billing Specialist Training, began a decade ago through a partnership between LaGuardia, Weill Cornell Medicine, and the Harvard Business School Club of New York's Skills Gap Project. Following the success of an early pilot, SBS provided additional technical support, guidance, and grant funding, and the New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH) provided input on the program design. It has since expanded to include major partners including Mount Sinai, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, Northwell Health, and NYC Health + Hospitals. Recent cohorts have maintained strong outcomes, with completion rates ranging from 89 percent to 92 percent and job placement rates between 83 percent and 87 percent.

"I want to keep learning as much as I can," said Isaac Guzman, Billing Coordinator at Mount Sinai and 2025 Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program graduate. "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."

Individuals seeking to apply to the Healthcare Finance and Operations Training Program should fill out an interest form here.

About NCLEX-RN/ELL
Open to New York City residents with nursing-equivalent degrees from countries outside the United States who are currently earning $40,000 per year or less, the NCLEX-RN/ELL program helps internationally trained nurses with the essential skills and knowledge needed to successfully pass the NCLEX-RN exam, obtain nursing licensure in New York State, and secure positions in hospitals and clinics across the city. As of 2024, nurses who complete the SBS NCLEX-RN/ELL training program and subsequently pass the exam can expect to more than double their pre-license income, with average salaries exceeding $100,000.

"A friend told me about the program LaGuardia offers to help people like me who want to return to our careers. I contacted them through SBS's Workforce1 Career Center," said Yamel Polanco, a registered nurse at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and 2024 NCLEX-RN/ELL graduate. "After taking the entrance exam, I entered the program. What I enjoyed most was the program itself - the harmony among the staff and their constant encouragement. Returning to the work I love is the best thing that's happened to me - especially doing it for the city that's given me so much. It's all thanks to LaGuardia and the NCLEX-RN/ELL program."

For those interested in LaGuardia Community College's part-time, evening courses, applications can be submitted here. Similarly, those interested in Lehman College's full-time, morning/afternoon courses can apply here. Both colleges accept applications on a rolling basis.

About LaGuardia Community College
LaGuardia Community College, 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 Lehman College
Lehman College is the City University of New York's only four-year college in the Bronx, serving the borough and surrounding region as an intellectual, economic, and cultural center. Lehman provides undergraduate and graduate studies in the liberal arts and sciences and professional education within a dynamic research environment. With a diverse student body of more than 14,000 students and more than 81,000 alumni, Lehman offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs. Ranked as having the fourth highest mobility rate in the nation by the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Equality of Opportunity Project, Lehman is a proud catalyst for economic and social mobility for its students, almost half of whom are first generation college students.

About the 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, visit nyc.gov/sbs, call 311, and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and LinkedIn.