Health Care Navigator Partners with UNCF to provide Health Care Internship and Scholarship Opportunities for African American College Students
Program aims to diversify the pipeline of employees in the health care industry
Media Contacts:
Ashlei Stevens
UNCF Communications
202.810.0226
ashlei.stevens@uncf.org
Alex Paley
Health Care Navigator Executive Asset Manager
914.390.4363
apaley@hcnavigator.net
(WASHINGTON) — Health Care Navigator (HCN) today announced the kickoff of a scholarship and internship program in partnership with UNCF. The Health Care Navigator Scholars Program will provide qualified African American college students and graduates with opportunities to experience careers in all segments of the long-term care and senior housing fields.
“Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, yet many college students are not aware of the array of available opportunities within it,” said Alex Paley, executive asset manager of HCN. “We want to invest in students and expose them to the rewards of careers in health care; careers that are not just available in clinical positions, but rather, in all disciplines that support the delivery of care—whether it be information technology, finance, legal services or marketing. Our joint program with UNCF is a very important first step in addressing this.”
A recent Georgetown University workforce study found that African Americans are underrepresented in the number of college majors associated with the fastest-growing, highest-paying occupations, with only seven percent entering the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. HCN is a national health care asset management and shared back-office services firm working with clients in the long-term care and senior housing industry, while UNCF is the nation’s largest minority education assistance organization. Collectively UNCF and HCN will provide qualified African American college students and graduates with careers in a major segment of the healthcare industry.
“We are excited to work with HCN to design what we believe will be a dynamic student professional development program for our students who aspire to careers in the healthcare industry,” said Larry Griffith, UNCF senior vice president of scholarships and programs. “Our portfolio of healthcare internship and scholarship programs is growing to cover the many different aspects of caring for America’s people. As baby boomers begin to age, we’ll indeed need more professionals working in long-term care and the senior housing industry. As we develop these type of college-to-career pipelines, UNCF and our partners like HCN are supporting the future health of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and our nation’s diverse population.”
Eight selected African American college students will each receive a $2,500 Health Care Navigator scholarship and will be offered a paid internship in South Carolina, Florida or HCN’s corporate office in White Plains, NY, with the potential opportunity for employment upon graduation. The selected scholars will also participate in a professional development and leadership conference this summer hosted by UNCF with support from Health Care Navigator. Eligible students must be enrolled full time as juniors or seniors at a four-year HBCU or be enrolled as a first-year law school student attending the institution of their choice, and must be interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. Additional scholars will be selected to receive a $2,500 Health Care Navigator scholarship. The first cohort of HCN Scholars will be announced in mid-spring 2016.
“I couldn’t be more excited that HCN and several of its clients will be working with UNCF. I hope that we can identify future leaders from the African American community out of this program that will help build dynamic and diverse healthcare companies for the next 50 years,” said Ahmad Rashad, an adviser to HCN.
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About Health Care Navigator, LLC
Health Care Navigator, LLC, (HCN) is a full-service asset management and shared services company dedicated to providing specific value-services to operators, investors and lenders in the senior housing, post-acute and long-term care fields, as well as in related industries such as hospice, rehabilitation, durable medical equipment, medical technology and institutional pharmacy. HCN also has a financial and investment-consulting business centered on finding and evaluating the most appropriate investment or lending opportunities for operators in the senior housing, post-acute and long-term care industries.
About UNCF
UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 21 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.