A grant amount of $113,400 over the next 3 years has been funded to The Health Collaborative's TAP HEALTH initiative.
TAP HEALTH, The Health Collaborative’s signature talent pipeline initiative for high school students, works with more than 41 partner schools and 13 of THC’s healthcare partners, including all six of the region’s major health systems and long-term care providers. TAP HEALTH offers high school students the opportunities to learn about pathways to careers as physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, healthcare administrators, and more. TAP HEALTH currently consists of three tracks, TAP MD (experiences that show the A to Z's of being a physician), TAP HC (experiences to explore the many possibilities in healthcare), and the recently developed TAP REMOTE (piloted this past year to offer virtual experiences across health careers). TAP HEALTH not only aims to grow the region’s healthcare workforce, but to also grow diversity to move the region’s healthcare workforce so it better reflects the communities it serves. As such, the initiative uses outreach efforts aimed at attracting more students of color, students in rural counties, and students without the capability to attend all in-person events.
TAP HEALTH is a program with a proven track record of success: an average of 92% of TAP MD and TAP HC students declare their intentions to enter medicine or healthcare as a direct result of their participation. At the conclusion of the 2021 program, more than 500 students will have graduated from TAP HEALTH.
How the funding from HealthPath is being used:
Funding in the amount of $113,400 over next 3 years from the HealthPath Foundation will support costs related to program development and expansion:
Converting existing year-long TAP HEALTH MD & HC programs to Summer Institutes
Developing program content and securing necessary materials for TAP REMOTE, TAP RN Diversity, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
Promoting all TAP HEALTH programs to students, parents, teachers, and counselors in more than 40 Greater Cincinnati area high schools
Marketing/outreach to attract students in racial and ethnic minority communities as well as those in more remote areas
Creating and editing educational videos to populate the TAP REMOTE video content library
Employing two (2) paid interns to support the program expansion (they are especially happy about the 2 interns)