Diversifying the Health Workforce
The health workforce doesn’t fully represent the rural and underserved communities of northern Arizona, and having healthcare providers and staff who come from the same communities as our patients can help improve the quality of care.
In 2023, North Country HealthCare received a grant from the Direct Relief Fund for Health Equity to help address this gap in our region. Direct Relief works to prepare health professionals in resource-poor areas to face the challenges of caring for those in need. The grant, which goes through 2024, funds three strategies: youth health career programs, scholarships, and workforce development opportunities.
Youth Health Career Programs
Future Faces of Family Medicine and the Tuba City Regional Health Care High School Exploration Program target northern Arizona high school students from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds who are interested in pursuing a health career after graduation. The goal of both programs is to offer health career exploration and hands on experiences to these students, emphasizing rural and medically underserved health care in the process.
Upon successful completion of a program, students are eligible to apply for a $3500 scholarship to be used toward a two or four year health related degree.
To date, we have supported 21 students between the two programs and these numbers will only increase with our spring and summer sessions still to come.
Know a high school student who might be interested? Contact the Youth Health Careers Program Coordinator, Sarah Frain, at sfrain@nchcaz.org.
Workforce Development Opportunities
The funding from Direct Relief will also provide opportunities for North Country HealthCare employees to seek advanced training in medical interpreting and clinical support roles.
- Medical Interpreting: Providing an in-person, trained medical interpreter in the patient’s first language is the gold standard for patient care. This program will allow NCHC to support current employees to become trained interpreters.
- Clinical Support Roles: We seek to grow clinical support employees from within the organization. This program will provide support for tuition and related expenses for employees pursuing an allied health training program.
Funding is limited. Details, including eligibility requirements and application processes for the above programs are in development and will be released later this year. If you are interested, contact the Workforce Development Manager, Anita Cleere, at acleere@nchcaz.org and she will add you to the interest list.
