NNPS hosts Legislator Day, signs partnership with Riverside Health
Posted: December 11, 2024
Newport News Public Schools signed a partnership with Riverside College of Health Science to enhance career pathways for students at the Governor's Health Sciences Academy at Warwick High School on December 11 as part of the school division's annual Take Your Legislator to School Day event at the school.
NNPS and Riverside officials celebrated their collaboration and signed the official agreement before attendees toured the GHSA and NNPS Legislative Liaison Patrick Finneran outlined the school division's key legislative priorities for the upcoming General Assembly session. Senator Danny Diggs, Delegate Shelly Simonds, Delegate Chad Green and a representative from Senator Mamie Locke's office were in attendance.
"We are excited about the future pathway opportunities that the Riverside partnership will bring and the ways that the program develops our graduates into vital medical personnel here in their own community," said Marjo Holthaus, program administrator for the GHSA.
Robin Nelhuebel, president of the Riverside College of Health Sciences, described how a longtime informal partnership with the GHSA has evolved into the larger commitment of a formal partnership. The geographic proximity of Riverside to Warwick, along with the approximately 400 students attending the GHSA and graduating either career or college ready, combined for a perfect fit to try to address the shortage of professionals in the healthcare fields.
Rudolph Vazquez-Lozada, a senior in the GHSA, described how his experience with caring teachers and staff in the program has helped him grow more outgoing during his high school years and prepared him for his plan to become a heart surgeon.
"I'm grateful for everything this program has given me," Vazquez-Lozada said. "It's been a life-changing experience and I'm proud to share it with others."
Through the Riverside partnership, GHSA students will benefit from specialized clinical education support provided by RCHS faculty and gain access to meaningful clinical experiences. This collaboration enhances the rigorous academic curriculum offered by GHSA and provides students with invaluable exposure to real-world health care environments, preparing them for successful careers in the health care field, according to Riverside.
Riverside will provide professionals from nursing and allied health disciplines to guest lecture in classroom as well as simulation lab settings, programmed visits to Riverside's multiple high-tech simulated patient care labs and preferred admissions for GHSA graduates into RCHS undergraduate programs.
The day's GHSA tour showed attendees the clinic, lab and classroom facilities that provide a setting for hands-on learning. Students guided their visitors through various stations demonstrating skills they are learning in their medical classes.
The new partnership with Riverside will expand those opportunities in a variety of ways.
"Through this incredible initiative, we will see our students grow into compassionate, capable professionals who are ready to make a difference in our community," Holthaus said.
