Krysta Rives is an assistant professor and chair of the Health Information Technology program at SUNY Jamestown Community College. She teaches classes that focus on medical terminology, health data procedures, and medical transcription.
A former JCC adjunct instructor, Rives joined the full-time faculty in August 2024 after serving as director of program development and curriculum at Great Lakes Institute of Technology.
Rives has a doctorate degree in Adult Education and a master’s in Healthcare Management from Capella University, a bachelor’s in Health Management from Northeastern University, and associate degrees in Occupational Therapy Assistant and Individual Studies from JCC.
What is your background in health information technology?
Rives: I started out in occupational therapy, so I was hands-on with patients for a number of years. But I've always been interested in the business side of healthcare as well, and I wanted to learn about running and managing medical offices in addition to treating patients. So I started to pursue education in health information technology and healthcare management myself, and I got to kind of marry my two loves of interacting with patients but also being able to manage and run different organizations and medical practices.
What is health information technology?
Rives: Health information technology is a degree field that prepares students to enter into the workforce right away after graduation. They can work for hospitals, they can work in medical offices, they can also work remotely if they would like to, doing things like medical billing and coding or transcription.
You teach a class called medical terminology. What is that all about?
Rives: One of the nice things about medical terminology class is that I get a mix of students. Not only health information technology students, but also nursing students, students who are currently in individual studies and they're not quite sure what they want to do. They come to my class and they learn about the human body and how it functions and the medical terms that apply to it.
Why do you like teaching at JCC?
Rives: I was a student here at JCC. I got two degrees here, and then I came on and I started teaching, so I've actually been here in one capacity or another, starting with my student days since 2008 or 9. I grew up here in Jamestown. This is where my family is. This is where I raised my children. I love continuing to be a part of JCC and to be a part of other people's lives and their journeys, pursuing their education and career fields as well. I also love being able to keep in touch with students, be a reference for students, and help them to make connections with employers so that they can go out into the workforce and make a living. That's why they come here, to get an education, so that they can then go on and support themselves and their families, or other times they want to transfer; they want to leave us and go to other places, warmer climates. But either way, I get to be a part of that journey, and so that is what makes it special to me.
Why should a student consider attending JCC?
Rives: I would say that it's never too late to start. If you are interested in returning to school after being out of school for a number of years, JCC is the perfect place to come back and do that. We have very flexible class schedule options. For example, the HIT program can be completed 100% online, including the internship. If you're a person who likes to be in the classroom, then we offer that as well, so we're very accommodating. We are a small school with faculty and staff who really get invested in our students' lives, and we want to support them and make sure that they are successful, and they graduate with the tools that they need to go into the workforce and earn a living.
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JCC offers an A.A.S Health Information Technology degree and Health Information Technology certificate.
Request more information about those and other JCC learning opportunities.