the giving effect  2025      25 
After 17 years in the corporate world, JEAN 
PATZ discovered a different kind of purpose at 
Cone Health. A nurse tech who worked through 
the toughest days of the COVID pandemic, 
she joined the CMA Academy to help patients 
stay well and prevent hospitalizations before 
they happen. Supported by Cone’s tuition-free 
training and steady pay, she gained new skills, 
confidence and community. Valedictorian of 
her class, Jean is stepping into wound care, 
continuing to help patients heal and proving that 
learning, growth and impact have no age limit. 
“The people who come through this  
program are going to change lives — 
not just their own, but the lives of every 
patient they touch.”
— Jean Patz 
    valedictorian of the 2025 CMA Academy class

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