CoxHealth and The Alliance for Healthcare Education: Shaping the future of health care

The Alliance for Healthcare Education isn’t just about education — it’s about preparing students for real-world success.

Shallina Goodnight, executive director of The Alliance, shared that message at the March "Good Morning, Springfield!," held at the Meyer Center.

"Through The Alliance, an 18-year-old graduate can now have two years of college under their belt and a credential they can use,” she told the crowd of more than 350 community leaders. “They can go to work for a health care partner, continue their education, and at just 20 years old, they could be making $65,000–$70,000 a year — with no debt. Imagine that!"

The Alliance is an innovative initiative designed to connect students with meaningful health care careers.

As Shallina explains, health care is more than just doctors and nurses — it’s a diverse field that requires professionals from all backgrounds. The Alliance for Healthcare Education recognizes that to truly meet the needs of this complex system, we must expose students to a wide variety of career paths.

"Healthcare is a dynamic ecosystem that takes all types of people and professions to be able to be effective,” Shallina says. “If we can connect with people who really should have a whole world of positions, we can help them find valuable, great careers they can be passionate about."

This program provides high school juniors and seniors with hands-on experience in a real hospital setting. Students graduate with a high school diploma, professional certifications (such as CNA or PCT), and even an associate degree at no cost to them. This means that by age 18, they can enter the workforce immediately or continue their education without financial burden.

The Alliance aims to connect with students, even as early as middle school, to show all the different aspects of health care.

"Students may think, ‘I would like to be a radiologist,’ but then they find out that there are 15 other things they didn’t even know they could do,” Shallina says. “Once they're exposed to those things and have that opportunity, we can connect their skills and passion with something that's going to turn out to be a career they’re passionate about.”

At CoxHealth, we know that the future of health care isn’t always about competition — it’s about collaboration.

"If we’re really going to move the needle and develop the kind of workforce that we need for our economic health as a community, it’s not going to be as individual organizations. We have to collaborate."

By providing students with the resources, training, and exposure to a variety of health care careers, we’re helping to ensure that our community has a skilled, diverse, and passionate workforce.

The next generation of health care professionals is already making strides, and we’re proud to be a part of their journey. Together, we are not only shaping careers but also strengthening the future of health care for all.