Area high school and referral hospital enter partnership that will expand student opportunities

ERIN WEEKS, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

May 23—Representatives from Strom Thurmond High School and Self Regional Healthcare signed to enter into a long-term partnership on May 15.

Self Regional Healthcare will serve as the new title sponsor and community partner of Strom Thurmond High School's Human Services and Business Academy. The new academy will now be recognized as the Self Regional Healthcare Human Services and Business Academy.

This partnership will provide Strom Thurmond students with internships, mentorships, career placement services and other programs that will benefit their journey into the world of healthcare.

Self Regional Healthcare is an independent, non-profit regional referral hospital providing care to 300,000 residents of Greenwood, Abbeville, Laurens, Saluda, McCormick, Edgefield and Newberry counties.

Sherri Gordon, assistant vice president of Self Regional, said there was a diversity of jobs available in the medical field, including the need for radiation therapists, perfusionists, nuclear medicine and surgical technology.

Gordon said this partnership is aiming to show students firsthand the scope of medical and health-related careers that are open to them.

"We're super excited to witness the incredible achievements we'll be able to make with this collaboration," she said.

"This partnership is to expand opportunities for students and for the adults at the school," said Strom Thurmond Principal Fran Altringer. "One of the focus areas we have is for you as students, once you graduate, to have a path... we want you to have direction and to have a path and to have a plan and to have skills."

Altringer spoke about how healthcare education teaches compassion and empathy. "It doesn't matter what your career is, those things translate to everyone, being a good person, and knowing how to care for the world you're forming when you graduate."

Strom Thurmond health science student Sophie Simpkins said: "Together we are not just training healthcare professionals, we are shaping the future of healthcare."

Another health science student, Mary Grace Fallaw, agreed.

"I am filled with hope and excitement for what the future holds," she said.