Mount Wachusett leads healthcare diversity project

PHOTO/COURTESY Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner has been awarded a $2.25 million to spearhead a project designed to increase the number of minorities and disadvantaged students pursuing careers in healthcare.

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By Emily Micucci

Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner has been awarded a $2.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to spearhead a project designed to increase the number of minorities and disadvantaged students pursuing careers in healthcare.

The program, known as the Workplace Diversity Pipeline Program, will create a high school to college pipeline for students who plan to enter the healthcare field.

The rogram will offer counseling, coaching, field trips, speaking programs and dual-enrollment courses to 120 students from Fitchburg High School, Leominster High School and the Leominster Center for Technical Education.

Two cohorts of students entering the ninth grade this year and next year will graduate from high school prepared to enter Mount Wachusett’s Pre-Healthcare Academy.

By the end of their second semester at MWCC, students will have completed 15 college credits. By earning dual enrollment college credits, students can complete a healthcare certificate program within the first two years of college, and an associate’s degree within three years of entering college.

The grant was received following a “rigorous grant process,” said according to U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas.