Career Pathways for a Healthier West Virginia – Summary Proposed grant to US Department of Labor, Education and Training Administration

This project applies workforce development methods to the question “Who will keep the public healthy in the year 2020 and beyond?” It directly addresses woeful inadequacies in how our healthcare delivery system deals with prevention, wellness, and health promotion. In addition, it harnesses the innate cultural competence of the disenfranchised and highest risk members of society, engages them in self-care, and enables those with potential, to grasp the bottom-most rung of an innovative career ladder. By systematically aligning the curricular content of that career ladder with existing programs in health sciences education, West Virginia’s entire health care workforce can deal more effectively and efficiently with our emerging epidemic of chronic disease.