ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – HCA Virginia has announced a $50,000 grant to expand access to medical education across the state.
Officials from HCA Healthcare and the Virginia Community College Educational Foundation held a check presentation at Virginia Western Community College.
“The Virginia Community College System has 23 colleges across the commonwealth, and Virginia Western University is a leader in developing health care programs and curricula, bringing them to rural and underserved communities. We actually provide some of our services,” the Virginia Foundation said. Gina Hecky, Director of Community College Education Philanthropy Partnerships;
Heckey explained how this grant will help expand the health care program used at Virginia Western to other community colleges.
“We are excited to work with our large philanthropic partners to expand these programs across the state and really advance health care efforts and the workforce through programs that are already best-practiced in Western Virginia. This is the first time we've seen this,” Hecky said. Said.
Christopher Finley, HCA Healthcare's assistant vice president for community engagement, said the $50,000 grant will provide seed money to create pathways for those interested in health care careers.
“Today's grant award ceremony provides seed money to create a pathway for those interested in a career in health care. We are committed to building a healthier tomorrow for our communities. We’re working on it,” Finley said.
Finley's hope is to increase diversity and inclusion in the healthcare workforce, leading to long-term economic and workforce development impacts. He said the grant funding was a win-win for everyone.
“It's not just for our community, it's for our patients. So we're training the future generation of health care workers, and we're training students who are excited and interested in becoming a health care workforce. “We want to make sure that we can learn about the avenues that are available to us,” he concluded.
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