Healthcare workforce nonprofit to provide more than $100,000 in equipment and supplies to support education and training programs at nine public school systems, including Wise County’s Career-Technical Center
Claude Moore Opportunities today announced that the Wise County Career-Technical Center will receive approximately $8,500 worth of healthcare training equipment—specifically, a new EKG machine—as part of the nonprofit’s first “Healthcare for the Holidays” campaign to provide healthcare workforce training programs around Virginia with cutting edge tools and supplies to train the next generation of healthcare workers. In total, more than $100,000 in training and educational equipment will be delivered to nine public school systems around the state, including Wise County, to prepare Virginians for healthcare careers in fields ranging from home health for seniors, to sports medicine, to lab testing and analysis.
“Virginians need more pathways into good paying careers and the Commonwealth desperately needs more healthcare workers to meet the needs of our citizens,” said Dr. Bill Hazel, CEO of Claude Moore Opportunities. “At Claude Moore we’re working every day to show more Virginia students the incredible opportunities that are available to them in healthcare. By giving Virginia students hands-on experience with the latest equipment, we hope to spark an interest that leads to a long and fulfilling career in the health sciences and greater access to quality care.”
“Thank you so much to Claude Moore Opportunities for sponsoring the new EKG machine and stand. This will help our students to be able to obtain the EKGs that are required for their credentialing test, as well as providing a great opportunity to learn about the various heart rhythms in real time,” said William A. Austin, CTE Director/Principal of Wise County Career-Technical Center. “Thank you for investing in their future and helping our students achieve their goals.”
In addition to the Wise County Technical Center, recipients of equipment and supplies through Claude Moore’s Healthcare for the Holidays include Fairfax County Public Schools, Pulaski County Public Schools, Rockbridge County Public Schools, Roanoke County Public Schools, Shenandoah County Public Schools, Clarke County Public Schools, Frederick County Public Schools, and Warren County Public Schools. These school systems’ career and technical education programs will receive equipment and supplies ranging from patient simulators to anatomical models and more.
According to a comprehensive 2023 study for the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority, 102 of Virginia’s 133 localities are federally designated “Health Professional Shortage Areas” and 93 localities are “Mental Healthcare Professional Shortage Areas,” meaning about one-third of Virginians live in a community without enough primary and behavioral healthcare providers.
Claude Moore Opportunities is working towards the dual goals of creating more pathways into healthcare careers, particularly for young people, and expanding the pool of trained, skilled, and credentialed healthcare workers to meet the needs of a growing Commonwealth.
About Claude Moore Opportunities
Launched in 2024, Claude Moore Opportunities is a new 501(c)3 public nonprofit organization that will raise and distribute philanthropic funds to support regional and collaborative efforts to expand Virginia’s healthcare workforce and create family-sustaining career opportunities. The independent organization is led by CEO Dr. Bill Hazel, Jr., former Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and governed by an executive board of notable civic, philanthropic, and healthcare leaders from around Virginia. Claude Moore Opportunities is building on the 20 years of healthcare workforce development efforts by the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, which has invested more than $24 million to enable thousands of Virginians to receive healthcare workforce training and credentials through strategic partnerships with public school systems around the state, the Virginia Community College System, George Mason University, INOVA Health System, the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and the Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Science Careers, among others.
