Twin County Healthcare Excellence Graduation
Twin County Healthcare Excellence Graduates 26 Students
Career Pipeline Program Addresses Regional Healthcare Worker Shortage
April 2nd, 2025
Mount Rogers Regional Partnership is proud to congratulate the 26 high school sophomores who completed the 2025 Twin County Healthcare Excellence program. TCHE is an initiative of MRRP’s Talent Solutions division, in partnership with Wytheville Community College; the schools of the Twin County region including Carroll County High School, Grayson County High School, and Galax High School; the Twin County Chamber of Commerce; and participating healthcare businesses and organizations throughout the area.
The white coat and pinning ceremony took place at the Crossroads Institute in Galax on Friday, March 28th, 2025. Welcoming remarks were given by Ashlyn Shrewsbury, Interim Executive Director of Mount Rogers Regional Partnership; Ewell Vernon, Dean of Health Professions and Medical Services at Wytheville Community College; Jay Holderfield, Assistant Principal and CTE Coordinator at Carroll County High School; and Rebecca Fisher, Director of Talent Solutions and Business Engagement at Mount Rogers Regional Partnership. This was followed by a panel discussion regarding careers in rural healthcare, with panelists including Sudandra Ratnasamy, CEO of Twin County Regional Healthcare; Mack Tolbert, Director of AirCare Critical Care Transport at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist; and Ewell Vernon.
Students were presented with their white coats, pins, and certificates of completion. A student representative from each of the three high schools then offered remarks on what the program had meant to them over the past eight weeks. Genivee Music, student representative from Carroll County High School, spoke to the regional collaboration of the program. “When we are going through middle and high school, our peers tell us our surrounding schools are our ‘rivals.’ Although during some sports seasons, we might have different jerseys, at the end of the day, these are our future friends and coworkers, and I’m glad that we put each other as peers and friends and not rivals,” Genivee noted. The student representative from Galax High School, Ariana Rojas, stated, “Before the program began, I expected to see nurses and therapists, but this program allowed me to see more. I was able to explore careers in healthcare that I never knew existed.” Grayson County student representative Myra Burnett concurred: “This program has given us the opportunity to go behind the scenes in a variety of healthcare settings,” adding, “This experience has confirmed my decision to pursue an occupation in healthcare.”
Healthcare facilities that students visited or learned from throughout the eight-week program included Blue Ridge Eye Care Associates, Carroll County Fire and Rescue, Commonwealth Senior Living at Hillsville, Comprehensive Treatment Centers, Galax-Grayson Emergency Medical Services, Healthcare Academy of SWVA, Heritage Hall – Laurel Meadows, Mount Rogers Community Services, PT Solutions, Senior Home Share, Twin County Regional Hospital, Tri-Area Community Health, and Saber Healthcare Group. They also toured facilities and experienced learning stations through Wytheville Community College at the Wytheville campus and the Crossroads Institute.
To learn more about the program, including how your healthcare business can participate in future cohorts, visit the Mount Rogers Regional Partnership website at www.mountrogersregion.com/programs or contact Rebecca Fisher at rfisher@wcc.vccs.edu.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Morgan Herbert
Director of Marketing and Communications
Mount Rogers Regional Partnership
mherbert@wcc.vccs.edu
276-223-4858
mountrogersregion.com
