On Friday, January 20, 2023 we had a great meeting focused on our Health Care Pathway hosted by College of the Albemarle. Our new Chairman, Michael Williams (Turning Point WDB) started us off with a reminder (borrowed from former Chairman Walter Dorsey) to “leave our egos at the door.” Following updates on Brandi’s title change (now Workforce Connector) and the two Good Jobs Challenge grants covering our region, we had spotlights from several partners. Tamara Gibbs (Vocational Rehabilitation) shared information about their services, including Windmills training that is offered to area employers/agencies. Blair Savoca (Eastern AHEC) shared their work and invited attendees to join the advisory committee. Duna Long (Turning Point WDB) shared updates about the Healthcare Careers Advancement Collaborative, a group of healthcare employers in the Turning Point region who meet regularly to work on Staffing needs along with Burnout and DEI. We finished up spotlights with Rachel Clipston (NWDB Youth Program) who shared their very cool Virtual Reality tools.
After a networking break, we continued with Laura Albaugh from Sentara Albemarle who shared plans for their new hospital and highlighted many of the opportunities they provide to youth and adults who are interested in careers in healthcare. She touted the great relationship they have with COA and announced their soon-to-be active Apprenticeship opportunities they’ve been working on with COA and ApprenticeshipNC.
Robin Harris, Dean of Health Sciences, ended our meeting with a powerful message about the urgency of our situation in health care staffing/enrollment and the importance of the partnerships and collaboration between agencies to make sure people can reach their goals. She shared a success story in the making about a new student in their *brand new* dental assisting program, who is a single mother of 3 currently working as a server in a restaurant. This student recognized that she needed to make some changes in order to spend more time with her children and be able to make ends meet. Robin talked about how NCWorks was able to help this student get the funding and support she needs to work towards her goals.
After the meeting, some of us joined Robin for a tour of the health care facilities on campus. We were excited to see the great posters that students created and which are posted in the hallways for all to see. The Sim<ulation> house had some very cool stuff going on, as did the other labs. Robin shared with us the plans for an extension to the health care building in order to provide more space for programs.
BIG THANKS to all of our speakers, and to College of the Albemarle for hosting!
Turning Point WDB Director Michael Williams tests the Virtual Reality tool 
COA’s Robin Harris is a Rock Star! 
Laura Albaugh of Sentara Albemarle 
