Ballad Health outlines regional career academy to Elizabethton board

Ballad Health representatives visited the Elizabethton Board of Education in June to describe the Ballad Health Academy, a regional career pathway for local high school students that the company is piloting over five years.

Matthew Loes, chief academic officer for Ballad Health, told the board the program is meant to lead students into both patient-facing roles — such as radiology and allied health — and non–patient-facing technical positions, including IT and HVAC. “You can earn $48,000 a year,” Loes said, describing the target early wage that he said would allow graduates to remain in the region.

The academy is in a pilot phase during its first five years, Loes said, and Ballad initially hoped to recruit about 120 students for a regional cohort; Elizabethton recruited more than 200. Loes said that response reflected strong local engagement from school staff, families and students. Dr. Morehouse, who accompanied Loes, and the director of schools said Elizabethton was among the earliest district partners to join the pilot.

Loes emphasized that the program includes a spectrum of career routes and not just clinical roles, to make health-care employment accessible to students who do not want direct patient care. He also pointed board members to an information packet and asked them to direct constituent questions to staff using that material.

Board members asked whether middle school students were being engaged to prepare rising ninth graders for the program; Loes said Ballad has been working with middle school teachers and expects the pipeline to expand. The district said it will continue to share details on student recruitment and implementation timing.

The presentation did not result in a formal board action at the meeting; board members thanked the Ballad representatives and noted enthusiasm for the opportunities the academy could provide local students.