June 11, 2024- HCA Healthcare, Inc. announced that the HCA Healthcare Foundation, through its Healthier Tomorrow Fund, will donate $1 million over the next three years to the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (Consortium) to help fund its Career Pathways to a Healthier Florida program. The Career Pathways to a Healthier Florida program aims to help create and expand healthcare career pathways for underserved high school students across the state of Florida.
The Florida Chamber Foundation’s Workforce Needs Study estimates there to be a shortage of approximately 463,000 healthcare workers by the end of 2024. Through the Career Pathways to a Healthier Florida program, the Consortium will develop and manage a grant process which allows local education foundations to apply for grant funds in support of local projects that foster healthcare career pathways. The program will fund 15 local education foundations in Florida over the next three years, focusing on activities that lead to nursing or allied health tracks and include work-based learning, healthcare career exploration activities and industry certifications.
The 15 local education foundations awarded are:
- Education Foundation of Palm Beach County
- Education Foundation of Okeechobee
- St. Lucie County Education Foundation
- Education Foundation of Martin County
- The Education Foundation of Alachua County
- Escambia County Public Schools Foundation
- Public Education Foundation of Marion County
- Foundation for Seminole County Public Schools
- Foundation for Orange County Public Schools
- Clay Education Foundation
- Jacksonville Public Education Fund
- Pinellas Education Foundation
- Pasco Education Foundation
- Citrus County Education Foundation
- Manatee Education Foundation