COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)— Piedmont Columbus Regional steamrolled their first class of Piedmont Futures, a program that offers high school students the opportunity to pursue a job in the health care field.
On Sept. 19, 2023, Piedmont’s first class of ‘Futures’ joined Piedmont Columbus Regional.
“Health care is a field that we have to work on our retention. So, this program is one that’s designed to help get the vested interest of those students in hopes that they’ll want to continue to explore their careers in health care upon graduation,” Melonese Close, Manager of Community Outreach and coordinator of Piedmont Futures, said. “As you know, there is an overwhelming turnover in health care and shortage of health care workers. So, it’s very important for us to be able to build our workforce capacity with this program.”
A total of 10 students representing three different schools are a part of this first class. One of which being James Dodson, a senior at Jordan Vocational High School. His weekdays start out bright and early clocking into work before heading back to the classroom.