Acadia Health Education Coalition Awarded $50,000 by Wal-Mart Foundation

BANGOR, Maine – The Acadia Health Education Coalition has been awarded a $50,000 grant by the Wal-Mart Foundation. The funds will be used to support the Maine Young Partners for Health Careers initiative, an effort to increase awareness of healthcare careers in Maine.

The program will promote the www.mainehealthcareers.com, which links youths to educational and career opportunities in healthcare through a personalized plan.
“This is truly a ‘Grow Our Own’ approach to the problem of recruitment and retention of healthcare workers in Maine,” said Carolyn Dorrity, RN, the Executive Director of Acadia Health Education Coalition. “Funding from Wal-Mart will make this project possible and the youth of Maine’s most rural and underserved areas will be the beneficiaries.”

Founded in 1984, the Coalition is a grassroots educational organization dedicated to recruitment and retention of Maine health care professionals and clinical training for primary care health professionals in rural and underserved areas of Maine. Serving rural areas in the Aroostook, Downeast, and Penquis regions, the Coalition provides clinical training development, multifaceted career exploration curricula and innovative use of technology to promote education and career development to assist the underserved at a reduced cost or free of charge.

Acadia programs include clinical rotation development and implementation for medical and allied health students; “Kids into Health Careers” presentations and curricula for elementary and secondary students throughout Maine; activity development for high school health occupations clubs, and career development programs with the universities and colleges in Maine.

“Wal-Mart Stores and Sam’s Clubs of Maine are excited to support the Acadia Health Education Coalition. Not only are they helping to train more healthcare professionals to serve the rural areas of Maine, they are also providing job training and careers for young adults in these regions,” said Philip Serghini, Senior Manager of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

The Acadia Health Education Coalition consists of a central office in Bangor and two regional offices in Presque Isle and Oquossac. The organization also administers Maine's only AIDS Education & Training Center (MeAETC) in Bangor.

The grant was made possible through the Wal-Mart Foundation’s State Giving Program. Through this program, the Wal-Mart Foundation awards grants at the state and regional levels to support unmet needs in areas of focus such as: Education, Job Skills Training, Environmental Sustainability and Health. For more information, please visit: www.walmartstores.com.

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Photo Cutline: The Wal-Mart Foundation presented $50,000 to the Acadia Health Education Coalition at a ceremony at the Wal-Mart in Bangor on Sept. 29. From left, Kathy Boucher, Western Region Placement Coordinator; Tom Dorrity, Health Careers Trainer; Roanne Seeley, MeAETC Director; Dean Grivois, Aroostook Region Health Careers Coordinator; Carolyn Dorrity, Executive Director; Eunice Stoddard, Bangor Wal-Mart Assistant Manager; and Arlene Luzzi, Associate Director/Web Portal Coordinator.