22 Cone Health Philanthropy community’s health. Some, like Jessica and Amiracle, are new recruits to health care. Others, like Jean and Rachael, are dedicated Cone Health employees eager to grow their skills and widen their impact. All are part of a growing workforce — a living health-care pipeline that stretches from high school internships to the CMA Academy to Cone Health University, where current team members continually learn and deepen their expertise to shape the future of care. Each program is strengthened by donor and partner support. “There’s a lot of news these days about a shortage of health-care workers at all levels,” Vice President & Chief Philanthropy Officer Michelle Schneider says. “People worry about who’s going to take care of them, who’s going to take care of their mother. They ask me how philanthropy can support our workforce needs, and the answer is by letting us try new things. We’re approaching the health-care shortage in a really unique way. Although Cone Health had a CMA Academy, we wanted to grow it, and we knew we needed partners to do that. So we started with a grant from the Truist Foundation. Then we went to the United Way’s Family Success Center and to Goodwill and said, ‘We know you’re helping people land better careers, and there’s no better place to work than Cone Health.’ ” With that, the CMA Academy opened to local community members and became an economic mobility program. The academy removes barriers by eliminating tuition, offering paid training, helping coordinate child care and transportation, and guaranteeing job placement. More than 100 graduates later, it’s proving to be an investment not only in health outcomes, but in families’ stability and mobility. “Philanthropy is driving our goal to have the best workforce possible to take care of this community,” Schneider says. “In addition to helping current Cone Health employees grow in their careers, we’re able to invite new people into health care, people who’ve never had an opportunity to become a clinician or part of our team. Philanthropy allows us to recruit them, solve challenges related to training and invest in their growth — and that invests in our growth.” Opening doors in high school With Cone Health’s deeper investment in workforce development, the pipeline can begin as early as high school, where Cone Health helps students imagine themselves in roles that support the community’s health. Supported by donor generosity, a 2024 pilot of the Career & Technical Education (CTE) Internship Program gave a small cohort of Guilford County students a first look at health-care careers — and the response was overwhelming. By summer 2025, the program expanded across Guilford, Randolph and Rockingham counties, offering stipends, removing transportation barriers and giving 39 students up to 120 hours of clinical experience. The CTE Internship Program lets students see what health care looks like behind the scenes. At Cone Health hospitals and clinics, high school interns shadow technicians, nurses and pharmacists, learning quickly that it’s not just nursing or medicine that keep a health system running — it’s also imaging, radiation oncology, urgent care, laboratory science and dozens of other roles, each a potential pathway for their own future careers. Some grew up hearing family stories about working at Cone Health. Others are searching for direction in the uncertainty of senior year. For students like Maria Martinez Mendoza, the impact was immediate. “Senior year can be really stressful,” Maria says. “But this helped me see the opportunities I have. Because of my experience at Cone Health, I’m really excited about what my future holds for me.” Students are invited into experiences that even some seasoned professionals rarely see. They witness procedures, spend time in the lab and learn how cutting-edge technology and equipment shape care across the system. “They aren’t bystanders and they aren’t silent observers,” says Susan Hussey, assistant director of the Cone Health Cancer Center at MedCenter Asheboro. “We have them out there working, and they want to be involved.” For many students, the CTE Internship Program is where a future in health care first feels possible. They leave with confidence, momentum and a strong head start — exactly the kind of early investment it will take to ensure we have a robust health-care workforce in the years ahead. Cone Health is building on that momentum. The next step is the Career Catalyst Program — a longer, paid rotation model that deepens skill-building and opens a clearer bridge to employment after graduation. Cone Health is seeking long-term funding to grow this effort. These 300-hour paid Care by design HEAR STUDENTS’ firsthand reactions to their internship experiences with Cone Health.
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