Cheryl Martin (Host): Coming up next, the fifth episode in a series of conversations with Dr. Marcelle Davis, Vice President and Chief Inclusive Excellence Officer at VCU Health and team members throughout our health care system on their commitment to inclusive excellence and its impact on health. Today, along with Dr. Davis, we're sitting down with Porsha Bennett, Manager, Workforce Development and Strategies, to discuss how the workforce development initiatives have a positive influence on our workforce and community. This is Healthy with VCU Health. I'm Cheryl Martin. Dr. Davis, welcome back.

Marcelle Davis, DSL (Guest): Thank you, Cheryl. I'm so excited to be here with you again.

Host: So, tell us why it's important that we hear from Porsha Bennett.

Marcelle Davis, DSL (Guest): Gosh, you know, Cheryl, Porsha's role as the Manager of Workforce Development is so incredibly critical to the development of our team members and ultimately the growth of our health system. I mean, for example, she's responsible for leading the Pathways to Healthcare Workforce program, which focuses on job attainment and career development, but most of all employee wellness.

She also leads the engagement of our leaders to help identify areas of opportunity that really are related to the workforce and that help to cultivate a network of internal and external partnerships that would help us to achieve divisional goals and objectives. And I mean, this only scratches the surface.

Host: All right. So, Porsha, welcome to Episode 5 of the series. Tell us a bit about yourself and the role your department plays.

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): Hello, sure. So, I actually started my journey here at VCU Health in 2007 in an entry level position and as a VCU student. VCU has definitely offered me a chance to explore many healthcare careers, gain leadership experience, and also further my career and education. I've always had a passion for health care, teaching and helping others.

So, when I was introduced to the Workforce Development Pilot back in 2018, I was really excited about the opportunity. In my current role as the Manager of Workforce Development and Strategies, I am responsible for overseeing strategic planning and project management of workforce development programs and grant projects.

I work with Virginia Community Colleges and their affiliated workforce development divisions, public schools, technical centers, and community organizations to create a clinical pipeline and non-clinical pipeline programs. I'm also responsible for overseeing workforce development project goals and managing allocation of funds.

Host: So, for those of us who may not see or understand the connection Dr. Davis, how do you combine the work of the Office of Inclusive Excellence and that of the Workforce Development Initiatives from Porsha's team? 

Marcelle Davis, DSL (Guest): Cheryl, thank you for that question. And as you can tell, Porsha has a lot on her plate. And sometimes it can be difficult to see how our inclusive excellence efforts are embedded into the health system's everyday business practices, like the work that Porsha leads. And so, as you can imagine, one of the things that we focus on is increasing the diversity of our workforce.

And sometimes that means finding what I like to call unconventional pathways into the health system. So, when my team works with Porsha's team, we look for ways to not only develop team members who perhaps want a career in health care, but don't have access to the resources. We also want to think about what are those programs that come into play. So, we leverage the relationships that we have with external partners to tap into their talent source who may be early in their career, and we look for ways to bring them on board and help them develop their skills. And ultimately, this helps our health system in various ways. It helps us to grow our talent, really helps us to diversify our workforce, and it, in the community, it truly solidifies us as an employer of choice.

Host: Porsha, give us an idea of the workforce development programs you and your team work on and the accomplishments.

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): So back in 2018, we created our high school workforce development program that provided high school seniors with a non-traditional option of pursuing their career and educational goals by first working in a VCU Health entry level position and later using our education benefits to further their career. Then later we created the VCU Health Pathways Connect program to provide adults who have graduated from high school and may have some college or work experience with workforce development opportunities. We provide this group of participants with a similar pathway option of starting in an entry level position or even exploring some of our clinical pipeline programs, and some of our clinical pipeline programs include the medical assistant program and nurse aide.

Since the start of our medical assistant pipeline program, we have successfully placed 130 certified medical assistant graduates in positions at VCU Health. And due to the success of forming the medical assistant program in partnership with Community College Workforce Alliance, we were awarded a local grant to provide financial support to CCWA medical assistance students to address barriers for student success and program completion. The program funds include access to tutoring services, purchasing program equipment, and reimbursement for transportation, childcare, groceries, emergency bills, and so forth.

Host: You have been quite busy, that's great. So, Porsha, if you were to zero in on the main challenge you typically face, and there may be more than one, what would it be and how have you responded?

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): We work with program participants who may not have access to resources to successfully complete a clinical program or barriers that prevent them from reporting to work. And some of these barriers can include purchasing program equipment, program and test fees, child-care and transportation.

We were awarded a grant to pilot a Student Success Fund to provide participants in our Medical Assistance Pipeline Program with access to resources to address these barriers and support participant success in their career and education path of choice.

Host: You mentioned grant, and this leads me to my next question. You were featured recently in a news article regarding how you secured a large grant for your organization. Tell us more about that and what it means for VCU Health and the program, or for that particular organization.

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): Yes, we received a 1-million-dollar U.S. Department of Labor grant that will enhance our current Central Virginia workforce development programs and support the expansion of communities served by VCU Health in our service areas in Tappahannock, Rappahannock, and South Hill. This grant will allow us to create more clinical pipeline programs in these areas, support hiring needs and workforce development and provide program participants with access to student success funds to support we their career and educational journey. We will partner with Virginia Community Colleges and their affiliated workforce development divisions such as Community College Workforce Alliance, technical centers, public high schools, and community partners for this project.

Host: And when does it get underway?

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): So, it actually, we were awarded back in May, so yep, the process has already started.

Host: That's great. That's great. So, Porsha and Dr. Davis, now I want to give both of you an opportunity to speak directly to those who are listening right now who are part of this community. And please tell them how they can engage in these opportunities that are obviously available to them. Porsha first and then Dr. Davis.

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): So VCU Health is invested in the success of our communities and populations that we serve. We provide community members with access to educational benefits to support career development and job readiness. And if you would like to make a difference in your community and are passionate about healthcare career opportunities, please email us at pathways@vcuhealth.org and someone from our team will contact you.

Host: Great. Dr. Davis.

Marcelle Davis, DSL (Guest): Oh, gosh, Porsha is doing some incredible work. I have to tell you. And so, this call to action is so incredibly important and it's twofold in my book. First, if you're already a health system team member who wants to build your skillset and grow your career here at our health system, give us a call and let's talk through how the workforce development program can benefit you.

And second, if you're a high school student or recent graduate and you may be interested in entry level employment with our health system, let us know and we can look closely at coordinating your career and educational activities that we offer to position you for success. And these internal and external partnerships really help us to strengthen the operational functionality of our workforce development model.

And going back to something I mentioned earlier, being an employer for choice, that is exactly what the partnership that my office and Porsha's office; this is really what we're able to bring to life.

Host: Great. Anything else you wanted to add just about your partnership in closing?

Marcelle Davis, DSL (Guest): Nothing from me. This has been great. Porsha, thank you so much.

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): Thank you for the opportunity.

Host: Well, as we close our podcast, I just want to reiterate VCU Health's mission. It is to preserve and restore health for all people of Virginia and beyond through innovation in service, research, and education. Thank you to our guests this episode, Dr. Marcelle Davis and Porsha Bennett for putting that mission at the center of what you do. Great information. Thanks to both of you.

Marcelle Davis, DSL (Guest): Thank you, Cheryl.

Porsha Bennett, MSHA (Guest): Thank you.

Host: For more information on VCU Health's commitment to inclusive excellence, visit vcuhealth.org/DEI. To listen to other podcasts from VCU Health, visit vcuhealth.org/podcast. This is Healthy with VCU Health. Thanks for listening.