Georgetown, S.C.-based Tidelands Health is taking a homegrown approach to building its workforce pipeline.
The health system partnered with Georgetown County School District and Horry-Georgetown Technical College in Conway, S.C., in March 2025 to launch the Tidelands Health Scholars program, aimed at giving local high school students a jumpstart on a healthcare career.
Through the program, students at the county’s four high schools can apply during their junior year to participate. Those selected complete a curriculum of health science courses, earn dual certification in health science through HGTC and graduate with their high school diploma, Jeremy Stephens, executive vice president and CHRO of Tidelands Health, said in an interview on the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast. Students who complete the program are guaranteed a job at Tidelands Health, which employs about 2,500 people.
“We’re hiring every one of them,” Mr. Stephens said. “We guarantee them a job when they get through the program, and then we bring them on board. And we also have the ability in our state and partnership with [HGTC] to offer kids two years free education. So they get their associate degree, so their junior year they figure out they want to be in health science, they’re guaranteed a job while they’re working. And then the goal is to find some sponsors or some folks to help us get from a two-year to a four-year degree for those folks. Also, with the end goal being really to give students that are juniors in our community the ability to have free education.”
As Mr. Stephens described, students can move directly from the high school program into employment at Tidelands Health while continuing their education to earn an associate degree at no cost, with the longer-term goal of extending support to four-year degrees.
The program enrolled its first cohort of 15 students in fall 2025 and is aiming to grow to about 50 participants per year.
“That’s a big focus,” Mr. Stephens said. “And if you think about that, after five years, that’s potentially 250 kids that have received all the education that they want and are members of our community with great-paying jobs, working with us. And it’s just a win for the community, for the hospital, for our patients, for everybody.”
The post How Tidelands Health built a high school-to-healthcare career pipeline appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
Source: Read Original Article
