20    Cone Health Philanthropy
Cone Health is creating clearer 
on-ramps into health care — 
through high school internships, 
the CMA Academy and Cone 
Health University — and shaping 
a workforce that keeps pace with 
the community’s needs. With 
donors and partners by our side, 
we’re preparing new caregivers 
and strengthening the workforce 
that serves the region every day.
Morning light falls across the exam room at LeBauer 
Primary Care as Jessica Wilsey secures the blood 
pressure cuff on her patient’s arm. She meets his 
gaze with a smile of quiet assurance, the kind that 
steadies a person at the outset of an appointment. 
Between questions about his grandkids and how he’s 
been sleeping, she catches a hint of something else 
— a skipped meal here and there, a slight shrug that 
suggests more than he says aloud. When she gets 
the sense that healthy food has been hard to come 
by, she already knows who to call.
It’s a simple exchange, but one that reveals how 
care at Cone Health is changing. Jessica isn’t just 
taking vitals; she’s listening for the story behind the 
numbers. What keeps her patient from eating well or 
making it to his appointments, and who can help? 
That’s Jessica’s ultimate goal: helping her patients 
move beyond sick visits into steadier well-being.
People like Jessica are at the heart of Cone Health’s 
investment in the future of care. She is one of dozens 
trained through the Certified Medical Assistant 
(CMA) Academy. She found the program through 
the United Way’s Family Success Center. At the time, 
she worked multiple low-wage jobs while raising 
three children. The CMA Academy offered a path to 
stability.
“When they handed me this, I felt on top of the 
world,” she says, holding her Cone Health employee 
badge between her thumb and forefinger, eyes 
shining. The badge is more than an ID; it’s a key to a 
meaningful career.
Cone Health, in turn, found what it needed in Jessica 
— a community member whose compassion and 
persistence translate directly into patient care.
Jessica’s story echoes across Cone Health — in the 
wound care center with Jean Patz, in specialty care 
with Rachael Cardinez and in the school-based 
telehealth clinic at Simkins Elementary with Amiracle 
Liles. Each stepped into a role that strengthens the 
20    Cone Health Philanthropy
Care by 
design
PRIORITY:  
Workforce Development

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