Bellingham Technical College announced it will receive a $643,796 grant over the next four years from the Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training program.

The grant will infuse Health Information Technology curriculum into BTC’s Nursing and Radiologic Technology programs.

BTC will also create a short certificate in Health Information Technology.

The college partnered with a number of regional community and technical colleges, as well as industry and labor partners to create a grant proposal for the program, which is part of the federal stimulus initiative officially known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

This grant project is focused on expanding and improving the ability of community colleges to deliver training programs with complementary courses in Health Information Technology. In addition to serving laid-off workers, the project has a special focus on assisting U.S. military veterans and their eligible spouses to enter and succeed in the high-demand field.

Bellevue College was the lead member of a grant proposal team that also included Whatcom Community College and the Northwest Workforce Council.

“Partnering with Bellevue College and other colleges allows us to become stronger as a whole.” said Patricia McKeown, BTC president, in a press release. “IT training relates directly to BTC’s priority initiative of excellence and innovation and gives our students the knowledge and skills they need to be competitive in a high demand, high wage career.”