High school health career academy begins Jan. 27

There’s a new health careers enrichment program for 10th-12th grade students who live in Lowndes County! The Lowndes County Health Career Academy (Academy) will open for Saturday school on January 27 and run through August 11, 2018. Applications are available at the local high schools: the Calhoun School, Central High School, and Lowndes Academy.

The deadline to apply is Wednesday, January 16, 2018, and space is limited to a maximum of twelve students who will be accepted to enter the pilot program. Students must have a 3.0 GPA, verified by a school counselor.

Made possible through a grant awarded by the Delta Regional Authority - to the Southeast Alabama Area Health Education Center (SEAAHEC) - the eight-month program embraces the SEAAHEC vision to build and to sustain the health care workforce in Southeast Alabama. The Academy is designed with a focus in Education for 10th-12th grade students in Lowndes County who have an interest in health care careers and who plan to return as future health care providers in their native Lowndes County.

The Academy faculty will consist of various academic and health care community partners who will provide discipline-specific information and hands-on activities in a five-hour format. The program is designed to expose students to the various health disciplines available and will offer continued guidance for students to successfully pursue their health career goals.

Lowndes County is one of seven rural counties in Alabama who have no public-access hospital, and currently, there is only one physician, one nurse practitioner, and one part-time dentist in the county to care for a population of 10,358.

The Southeast Alabama AHEC (SEAAHEC) is a non-profit agency that serves 15 counties in Southeast Alabama with a mission to create greater access to health care in rural counties by offering educational programs for high-school students and clinical training opportunities for health professions, college students - to build the health care workforce.

Contact for more information: Melanie Chervony: 334.676.4180 or mchervony@seaahec.org