Jennifer Ritz

Health Administration Class of 2025

• Hometown: Northfield, NJ (formerly Clawson, Michigan)
• Activities at Rutgers: Upsilon Phi Delta honor society

Jennifer Ritz still remembers the moment her career path began to take shape—long before she ever thought about applying to Rutgers. As a medical biller in Michigan, she was hired to help a struggling private practice. What she found was shocking.

“My first task was to reduce 500 pages of account receivables,” she said. “The doctor had taken out a second mortgage on his house because the previous biller didn’t know what they were doing. Most of the problems were formatting errors and missing modifiers—easy stuff to fix, but it takes someone willing to identify the problem and do the work.”

That firsthand experience with a broken billing system opened Jennifer’s eyes to something bigger. “It taught me that a terrible biller can bankrupt a successful business, and you cannot trust the insurance company to automatically do what they’re supposed to do,” she said. It also sparked a passion to fix what’s broken.

Originally from Clawson, Michigan, Jennifer now lives in Northfield, NJ, and discovered Rutgers in an unexpected way. “I researched every school you can think of. I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg, and I wanted a degree from a reputable school that would be recognized outside New Jersey,” she said. “When I saw there was a Rutgers program at ACCC with remote learning options, it sealed the deal.”

While she hadn’t heard of the Bloustein School prior to transferring from Rutgers at ACCC to finish her health administration degree, it’s been a rewarding discovery. “I really like when professors make you think critically and apply real-world situations to the lectures,” she said. “Healthcare is complicated, and making things easy isn’t doing anyone any favors. Thinking critically is important in this field.”

With years of professional experience under her belt, Jennifer has a clear vision for her career path: to make healthcare more accessible, affordable, and fair—for doctors and patients alike. “Independent doctor offices are being swallowed up by corporate medical chains,” she said. “Running a medical practice has become so convoluted and confusing that it’s almost impossible to be independent.”

“I want to be part of the changes I’ve been talking about. I want to make things better for doctors and patients.”

Her advice to prospective students is refreshingly direct. “Just do it. The healthcare industry is growing, and there are opportunities all over the country. It will be worth it in the end. Anything worth doing is going to be difficult.”

She also emphasizes the field’s potential for women. “I enjoy this industry because I can support myself on what I make as a coder. It’s not always easy for women to find meaningful employment outside the service sector. But in healthcare, women lead.”

Outside of school and work, Jennifer finds joy in life’s simple pleasures. “I love my cats, sitting on the porch with my husband, and watching the birds at our feeders,” she said. “My latest obsession is carnivorous plants. We love to travel, and I’m looking forward to doing more of it once school is done.”