Joyce Hill, Chair of the Pee Dee Workforce Development Board, presents a check for $100,000 to McLeod Health representatives Tim Hess and Heather Grier.

McLeod Health has been awarded $100,000 for innovative healthcare grant initiatives from the Pee Dee Workforce Development Board (PDWDB).

McLeod Health received the funding for their Healthcare Fast Track Program, which is a hiring model that is completed on an accelerated schedule, resulting in full time employment with benefits for selected candidates. In partnership with McLeod Health for the Healthcare Fast Track Program are the Pee Dee Workforce Development Board, SC Works Pee Dee, Florence-Darlington Technical College and Blue Ribbon Management & Consulting. McLeod Health will enroll, train and place unemployed and/or underemployed individuals who are at least 18 years old and who qualify for the program. By coordinating five separate tracks, which will range from 11.6 to 16.6 weeks each, McLeod will supply talent needed for the Certified Nursing Assistant/Medical Surgical Tech and Certified Medical Office Assistant positions and provide job opportunities for 50 to 60 graduates of the program.

“We believe collaborating with our local schools, state agencies, and business partners leverages each of our unique strengths to help us create a model that will be replicable across our region and even the state. This initiative ensures that we create a pipeline of high-caliber clinical staff to take care of our patients to meet our growing workforce demands,” said Tim Hess, McLeod Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Training. “This is not only good for the patients we serve, but also good for our community since better trained staff will continue to raise the quality of care we provide and produce sustainable and dependable jobs well into the future.”

The SC Works Pee Dee workforce system is supported and operated by the Pee Dee Workforce Development Board and its partners. It is through this system that employers are assisted with training and hiring a world-class workforce, and that job seekers are provided tools to improve their skills, and thereby, obtain self-sufficient employment. Local economic development officials can look to the WDB and its partners to improve the skills of the area’s workforce so that the region is attractive to businesses and industries seeking to join the community. The Pee Dee WDB is pleased to play a part in the continued economic growth of the region.