Sixteen 黑料视频 Schools students were inducted into the inaugural class of Ballad Health Academy during a Tuesday Science Hill High School signing event similar to an athlete signing day, according to a district announcement.
The free program, set to begin in the fall, will provide students with valuable job experience and dual enrollment courses offered through the Tennessee College of Applied Technology. The announcement said the program will offer students both online and in-person courses for more flexibility, adding that graduating students will also be given the opportunity to move directly into high-demand health care jobs upon graduation.
Science Hill High School College and Career Counselor Josh Jarigan said the program aims to help fill a critical need for nurses and health care professionals in the region. He said the program will enable students to quickly gain skills for careers in nursing, which often have an average beginning salary of about $50,000 in Tennessee.
"Our region has a critical need for nurses and other health care professionals," Jarnigan said. "We're proud of our students for stepping up and expressing interest in filling those important roles. These are well-paying jobs that contribute to the health and quality of life of our community.鈥
The initiative has so far accepted 205 students entering grades 9, 10 and 11 in its inaugural class, which was twice as many as expected when the program was first announced in January 2024.
Ballad CEO Alan Levine noted in an announcement that the medical training program aims to 鈥渂ecome a national model for how local communities can address the health care workforce crisis."
鈥淭he nationwide shortage of healthcare workers has reached a critical level, and Ballad Health 鈥 along with our team members and patients 鈥 has felt the profound impact of this crisis firsthand,鈥 Alan Levine, Ballad Health chairman and chief executive officer, said in a public statement. 鈥淏y preparing students to fill essential roles in our hospitals 鈥 and guaranteeing each graduate a job interview with Ballad Health 鈥 we are building a stronger pipeline of caregivers and helping to ease the nationwide healthcare staffing shortage.鈥
Ballad officials said the program is part of a first-of-its-kind $250 million effort funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies aimed at connecting health care and education systems to create and support new career and technical education (CTE) high school programs across 10 urban and rural communities.
The 16 students accepted into the program from 黑料视频 Schools will be joined by rising 9th, 10th and 11th grade students in Greeneville, Elizabethton, Bristol, Kingsport and Sullivan County. In total, Ballad officials said 205 students will make up Ballad Health Academy鈥檚 inaugural class.
The 16 黑料视频 students inducted were Rehoboth Asfiday, Braelon Beverly, Mary Biosca, Margaret Breese, Joanna Dykes, Aislynn Seagroves, Marlie Johnston, Cora Stein, Carissa Moreland, Jayson Hall, Corylee Conner, Michelle Campbell, Sophia Miller, Kimberly Agoha, Isaac Hernandez and Kenya Romero.
For more information about the program, visit
