Future Leaders in NC Health Care Convene in Greensboro
 Jacqueline Hallum, Director of Health Services, MAHEC — Asheville top center, surrounded by participating students. Front row, left to right: John Patterson, MS Greensboro AHEC; Janice Brewington, PhD, Provost – NC A&T State University; Rep. Alma Adams, PhD – NC House; and Thomas Bacon, DrPh, Director – NC AHEC Program. |
GREENSBORO, NC —
From May 19 through 21, 2006, the Greensboro Area Health Education Center (AHEC) of the Moses Cone Health System hosted almost 200 high school students for the seventh annual Future Leaders in Health Care conference at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.
The conference is offered to high school students from around the state who are interested in pursuing careers in health care and participate in North Carolina AHEC Health Careers and Workforce Diversity programs.
The theme for the three-day conference was “The Heartbeat of America: Women of Color and Cardiovascular Disease” and featured Lorna Harris, PhD, RN, FAAN, chair of the North Carolina Central University Department of Nursing as the keynote speaker. Other conference speakers included: Janice Brewington, PhD, FAAN, provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at NC A&T; Representative Alma Adams (NC House District 58); Merle Green, MPH, director, Guilford County Health Department; Bettye Young-Stewart, MS, assistant director, NC A&T\’s Sebastian Health Center; James Johnson, PhD, distinguished professor of business at UNC-Chapel Hill; Earl Suttle, PhD, president, Three E Corporation; and Betsy Vetter of the American Heart Association — Mid-Atlantic Affiliate.
“The primary purpose of the Future Leaders conference is to provide a forum that meets the pre-professional needs of high school students who are interested in pursing all health care disciplines,” said conference chair John W. Patterson, Jr., MS, MEd, of Greensboro AHEC. “The greatest emphasis will be placed on addressing cutting edge and pressing issues like cardiovascular disease in women of color and relate them to the delivery of health care services. Most importantly, the conference seeks to provide students with strategies, information and tools for managing health care in the future.”
Workshops were held on the impact that health policy and legislation have on the treatment of cardiovascular disease in women of color and on the impact workforce shortages, population growth, and diversity will have on the treatment of the disease and in health care at-large. Students also took part in a health care expo and fitness/wellness-related displays and demonstrations.
Future Leaders in Health Care was sponsored by
The NC AHEC Health Careers and Workforce Diversity (HCWD) initiative,
consisting of recruitment programs from ten AHECs throughout
the NC AHEC Program Office, and the North Carolina Health Careers
Access Program (NC-HCAP), seeks to increase the numbers of minority and
disadvantaged individuals in the health professions throughout the
state by maintaining and expanding effective academic and community
partnerships. The program strives to collaborate with existing programs
and identify gaps in the academic pipeline. This system of formal and
dynamic partnerships seeks to link graduate and undergraduate
institutions, community colleges, local school districts, health care
agencies and communities to create an environment that attracts
students into the health professions educational pipeline from
kindergarten to professional practice.
______________________________________________________
