The Health Care Careers Academy (HCCA) is a joint venture of the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences, Lancaster County Stem Alliance, HCCA Lancaster Campus, and Lancaster-Lebanon IU13. The Academy is being generously funded by a BB&T Economic Growth Fund grant of the Lancaster County Community Foundation. The need for healthcare professionals is growing exponentially, impacting the social and economic future, of Lancaster County.
The Mission of the partnership and program is to:
Provide a pipeline to healthcare careers through education, mentorship and hands-on experiences.
In its third year of the pilot program, the academy continues to work with students interested in pursuing healthcare careers. The HCCA program is currently working with the School District of Lancaster, Manheim Central Schools, and Eastern Lancaster County School District. Following the pilot, the intention is to expand to other schools across the county.
As a part of the Academy’s Core Values, the staff, faculty, and administrators believe and value:
Healthcare education as a pipeline to employment
Careers in healthcare that provide sustainable personal financial security
A healthcare community characterized by collaboration and partnership.
Relevant healthcare experience, supported with guidance and mentorship.
Empathetic, skilled, motivated healthcare professionals
For each year of the pilot program, twelve freshmen from each of the three school districts are selected during the spring term. These students stay with the program for the remainder of high school, engaging in a two-week summer experience each year, as well as ongoing programming throughout the school year. Students will experience interactive and hands-on learning inside and out of the classroom, as well as valuable peer to peer interaction throughout the program.
In the ultimate vision of HCCA, every student is empowered to make a strategic decision around healthcare careers. To find our more information about this program, please contact hcca@pacollege.edu.
