Pinehurst, NC – Hospitals across North Carolina are developing solutions to a critical challenge: building and sustaining a strong healthcare workforce. In Moore County, FirstHealth of the Carolinas and the Foundation of FirstHealth have partnered with local educational institutions to create a career pipeline that helps students pursue healthcare careers while building a strong future workforce for the health system.

Launched in 2024, FirstFutures helps fund education for students pursuing nursing, allied health and skilled trades. In return, students commit to joining FirstHealth after completing their education and any required exams or certifications.

For Alexia Watson, becoming a nurse was a lifelong dream. Today, she is a registered nurse in the cardiac unit at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst. But getting there was not as straightforward as she had hoped.

Alexia worked as a certified nursing assistant while attending Sandhills Community College (SCC) and preparing for the health education entrance exam. She worked ahead, beginning courses toward her Bachelor of Science in Nursing before earning her associate degree in nursing. After joining SCC’s nursing program, she was accepted into FirstFutures, which helped support her through the next two years of her education.

“FirstFutures supported me in my goal of becoming a nurse by literally allowing me to focus on nursing school only. Having to put your focus in multiple baskets can make nursing school hard, so I was able to focus strictly on nursing school and that was such a blessing,” she says.

The sponsorship can help ease one of the biggest obstacles for students preparing for healthcare careers: paying for school while completing clinical hours, certification exams and specialized training.

Christi Jacobs heard about FirstFutures from a friend who works at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital – Richmond in Rockingham, NC. She is now finishing her second year of the radiography technologist program at Sandhills Community College with support from the FirstFutures sponsorship. She also gains hands-on experience by working as a student in the hospital’s radiology department.

For Christi, the program provides both financial support and a clearer path into her future career.

“FirstFutures takes the weight off you by showing that you don’t have to go out and search for a job when you’re done. You have these people who are supporting you, and you have a job that’s there when you’re ready,” she says.

That connection between education and employment is at the heart of the FirstFutures model. The program grew from the Surry-Yadkin Works Apprenticeship Program. FirstHealth and its foundation worked with local community colleges and universities to understand the challenges students and schools were facing and identify ways to address them.

The result was a model that benefits both sides: colleges can help students complete their education, while FirstHealthdevelops a pipeline of qualified candidates who are already gaining experience in the health system.

The application process is designed much like an interview for a full-time position. Students discuss their interest in their chosen career while also learning about FirstHealth and determining whether they are a good fit for the organization’s culture. The health system emphasizes a welcoming, supportive environment across its teams — one that creates a positive, healing experience for patients and a workplace where employees want to build their careers.

“There’s a direct correlation between employee satisfaction and patient satisfaction,” said Carolyn Helms, director of FirstFutures at FirstHealth.

Once accepted, FirstFutures provides up to $2,500 per semester for each student. After graduating and passing required exams or certifications, students commit to one year of full-time employment at FirstHealth.

The program is already showing results. FirstHealth, through collaboration with local community colleges, has filled all available radiography technologists and sonographer positions.

FirstFutures is now accepting applications for 2027. More information is available on FirstHealth’s FirstFutures webpage.