Laura Wilburn brings real-world nursing experience to her healthcare science classroom at Jefferson High School, where she’s teaching the next generation of medical professionals. Now, thanks to HireSmart Cares, her students will have new tools to prepare for healthcare careers. 

A HireSmart $6,397 workforce development grant provides essential training equipment for the JHS healthcare science pathway, including medical scrubs, anatomical models, blood pressure simulation arms, and a buzzer system for academic competitions. The grant will impact 220 students per semester. 

Of course, not all students will follow a medical career path, but Wilburn says the school’s healthcare training is valuable to everyone. 

“Even if students choose a career that is not healthcare related, they can still benefit from the knowledge base they gain, either through personal or family experiences,” said Wilburn. “Being able to sit in a doctor’s office and understand the language medical providers are using and making relevant connections is valuable for everyone.” 

Students in the JHS healthcare pathway who do seek jobs in the field will be met with open arms. The healthcare industry faces a dire need for young professionals. Georgia could see the nation’s largest shortage of registered nurses by 2036, with an estimated 34,800 vacancies, according to a report from the Health Resources and Services Administration, a federal agency of HHS.  

According to the Cicero Institute, Georgia is expected to be short 8,012 doctors by 2030, with 120,000 too few doctors nationally. Georgia’s physician-to-patient ratio is 23 percent worse than the national average. 

HireSmart Cares, a local 501c3, aims to help young people acquire valuable job skills while enrolled in grade school to prepare for careers in industries facing labor shortfalls, such as in healthcare. The nonprofit seeks to help teens be employed, enlisted, or enrolled when they graduate high school. 

That’s why HireSmart Co-founders Mark and Anne Lackey attended the Jefferson City Schools Board of Education meeting Jan. 9 to present a check to the school to support the JHS healthcare pathway, along with a separate grant for its JROTC program. 

“We’re just pleased to help,” said Mark Lackey. “The students coming out of this program are going to benefit you, me, all of us in our community and state, and we hope they do stay in our communities.” 

The healthcare grant enhances hands-on learning across all JHS healthcare pathway courses. For instance, the new anatomical models replace older, worn-out skeletons, allowing students to study human structure in detail. 

“We currently have skeletons in our classroom, but they have been loved and used so much that they need to be replaced,” said Wilburn. “The skeletons HireSmart will provide will replace those in all three classrooms. They are used frequently to explain anatomical locations. Their use as visual aids is helpful for many students to comprehend the content fully.” 

The grant also provides blood pressure simulation arms for realistic practice for a challenging clinical skill.  

“Blood pressure measurement is a complex skill,” said Wilburn. “There is so much going on. Students have to hold the stethoscope, inflate the cuff, watch the needle and listen all at once. These simulator arms are helpful because you can set the blood pressure to any number you want. I’ve had much success with students becoming proficient quicker with a simulator than going straight to a classmate.” 

The grant also provides students with professional scrubs, complete with Jefferson logos added by the Spirit Spot, a school-based enterprise or “school store” organized and operated by JHS business students, at a cost of $1 per item.  

“Scrubs are wonderful because they will promote our pathway,” said Wilburn. “Students who are in scrubs will stand out to other students. This attire aligns with the employability standard of professional dress. These scrubs can be worn during job shadowing experiences, work-based learning placements, and HOSA competitions at conferences.” 

Beyond classroom learning, JHS healthcare students participate in HOSA-Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America. This career-technical student organization lets them compete in medical knowledge events and connect with peers interested in healthcare. 

The HireSmart grant includes a buzzer system for “HOSA Bowl” competition practice.  

“The buzzers will also be used in the classroom when we review for tests. The students love Jeopardy and other competitive review games,” said Wilburn. 

Last May, the school held its first Healthcare Professionals Signing Day, celebrating 11 seniors who signed letters of intent to commit to future careers in healthcare.  

“We should have even more this year,” she said. 

The impact of the JHS healthcare pathway program extends beyond individual careers; it helps strengthen healthcare knowledge in the broader community. Wilburn regularly sees this impact in her classroom.  

“Students have stayed after class to say maybe they didn’t feel comfortable at the moment sharing something that had happened with them personally or with their family members, but they’ll say, ‘Miss Wilburn, I had a situation like that, or my family member had that condition that we talked about.’ That’s very meaningful when they choose to share. Things like that make them more receptive to the information and allow them to think about it on a larger scale than just in the classroom.” 

For information about the JHS healthcare science pathway, contact Wilburn at laura.wilburn@jeffcityschools.org. To learn more about HireSmart Cares and its initiatives to support job skill development for local youth, visit hiresmartcares.org.