As Ballad Health Academy begins its second year of preparing high school students for healthcare careers, we are excited to announce our first expansion. Johnson County High School will join seven other area high schools as part of Ballad Health Academy. Beginning this fall, the program will offer coursework to Johnson County students, putting them on the path to earning nursing credentials while still in high school.
The expansion into Johnson County is made possible through a State of Tennessee Workforce Development Grant awarded to Ballad Health. The grant is focused on strengthening the nursing pipeline in rural communities by expanding educational opportunities for high school students and community healthcare workers seeking additional credentials. After the first year, the program at Johnson County High School will transition to funding through the Bloomberg Philanthropies grant that supports Ballad Health Academy at the other seven regional high schools.
“It is exciting to see Ballad Health Academy move from concept to reality and now into expansion,” said Dr. Jeff Moorhouse, corporate director for secondary programs at Ballad Health. “Johnson County offers the perfect opportunity to learn how to better serve the rural communities that make up much of the Appalachian Highlands.”
District and school officials have already met with the Ballad Health Academy team and are preparing a dedicated space to house the program. It will build on Johnson County High School’s already strong health science curriculum.
“Johnson County Schools is so excited about the partnership with Ballad Health to start the LPN program for students at Johnson County High School,” said Dr. Mischelle Simcox, director of schools. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to help grow a healthcare pipeline that will benefit our community.”
Johnson County is served by Johnson County Community Hospital, a Ballad Health facility in Mountain City. Students in the new program will have opportunities to gain hands-on experience at the hospital while learning in their own community.
“By expanding to Johnson County, we are excited to apply what we have learned through our partnerships with the other schools,” said Dr. David Timbs, program manager for curriculum-based programs at Ballad Health. “Their teachers and administrators will join colleagues from across the region to learn alongside us, and the students will get to attend camps and regional events alongside their peers from Greeneville, Elizabethton, Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol. It is very exciting.”
Sonya Hammons, health science instructor at Johnson County High School, will join her fellow nursing instructors as part of the close-knit group serving as adjunct faculty for TCAT in the program.
“Expanding into Johnson County creates new possibilities for students, families and the future of healthcare in our region,” said Amy Jeffers, program manager for secondary integration. “I am excited to see the lives that will be changed through this opportunity and look forward to welcoming Johnson County into the Ballad Health Academy family and our network of passionate, dedicated nurse educators.”