Tiger Woods’ local foundation teamed up with the Providence hospital system to teach ninth and 10th graders about career opportunities in healthcare.
The two entities sponsored a “Community Health Academy” on Oct. 14 at TGR Foundation’s Learning Lab in Anaheim.
The day-long event was geared toward ninth and 10th graders in the Anaheim Union High School District, which also participated as did the North Orange County Regional Occupational Program.
The dual goal is to encourage and provide an opportunity for teens to gain real-world, tangible experiences related to their career interests and to fuel the pipeline of future healthcare workers.
“The Community Health Academy, powered by TGR Foundation and Providence, marks the beginning of our new Career-Connected Learning Programs for teens,” Cyndi Court, chief executive of the TGR Foundation, said in a statement.
Labor Shortage
The event comes at a time when the healthcare industry is facing a shortage of 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026, according to the American Hospital Association.
Job vacancies for various types of nursing personnel increased by up to 30% between 2019 and 2020, it said, pointing out huge shortages in areas like nurses and respiratory therapists.
Furthermore, turnover due to COVID-19 pressures increased to as much as 30% for some hospital departments like emergency, intensive care units and nursing.
“Staffing shortages have driven an increase in wages forcing hospitals to invest significant resources to recruit and retain staff,” the association said on its website. “These pressures are expected to persist.”
Providence Jobs
Providence employs about 8,300 among its three hospitals in Orange County: Providence Mission Hospital, Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange and Providence St. Jude Hospital.
Together, the three hospitals reported $2.3 billion in revenue for the year ended Sept. 30, 2022.
The three hospitals recorded almost 1 million outpatient visits and 237,000 patient days with 1,280 beds.
The TGR Foundation was begun in 1996 by golfer Woods, who grew up in Cypress. It emphasizes helping youth from “under-resourced communities” by providing programs such as career preparation resources along with STEM-based experiential learning coursework.
The Irvine-based nonprofit reported $7.1 million in revenue for the year ended June 30, 2022. It has 72 paid staff and 75 volunteers who helped serve 3,500 clients.
TGR’s longtime chairman is Mike McKee, who was once chief executive of Irvine Co.
The two entities began working together during the pandemic when Providence tapped TGR’s Learning Lab, a 35,000- square-foot education facility, to distribute care packages with COVID-19 tests and information on how to avoid contracting the diseases.”
