Memorial Hermann Health System and the Aldine, Texas, school district in the Houston area this month opened the doors of a health education trade school for high school students. The Health Education and Leadership (HEAL) High School delivers a curriculum that combines academic classes with hands-on learning for healthcare careers. Students participate in job-shadowing, simulation labs, paid healthcare internships, professional mentoring, and other work-based learning experiences, according to the school’s press release. Students choose from 5 pathways: nursing; physical and occupational rehabilitation; medical imaging; pharmacy; or non-clinical medical administration. The vision is to lay an educational foundation that ultimately builds up the healthcare workforce for the future.
Growing enrollment: By 2028, the HEAL school is expected to be at capacity with as many as 760 students. The initiative was estimated at $250 million with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which recently made headlines for its $1 billion gift to Johns Hopkins University to offer free tuition for a majority of medical school students (those from families earning under $300,000 a year).