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DULUTH, MN - The College of St. Scholastica and Essentia Health will hold a signing ceremony at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, in Science Center Room 3119 to celebrate a new collaboration.

A $49,344 grant from the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership will support St. Scholastica's Health Informatics and Information Management (HIIM) department in designing and implementing a comprehensive training program that prepares the Essentia Health workforce for updated documentation and coding using the new ICD-10 system of International Coding of Diseases.

The training will provide Essentia Health staff the knowledge required to effectively implement ICD-10, reducing the risk of improper coding and decreased productivity during the transition.

"We are delighted to partner with the Minnesota Jobs Skills Partnership to train  Essentia Health staff," said Dr. Larry Goodwin, president of St. Scholastica. "This  strengthens cooperation between the College and the business of regional health care."

Confirmed attendees include Duluth Mayor Don Ness, State Rep. Mary Murphy, Jennifer Esterbrooks, director of coding operations and education at Essentia Health, and Paul Moe, director of the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Program.

As of Oct. 1, 2013, all U.S. healthcare organizations must change from using the ICD-9 edition to ICD-10, a massive transition. According to a recent survey of healthcare executives' top ten challenges facing the organization, ICD-10 implementation is ranked third.