Corporate and nonprofit partners combine strengths to fill a medical assistant shortage, bolster our local workforce and help families thrive.

Jessica Wilsey lowers her head to her chest, holding her employee badge between her thumb and forefinger. She takes a moment to contemplate its significance. 

“When they handed me this, I felt on the top of the world,” she says, gratitude flowing from her eyes.

Jessica is a recent graduate of Cone Health’s Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) Academy, a workforce development program made possible through a collaboration with the United Way of Greater Greensboro and Truist Foundation. 

The badge unlocks the door to a meaningful career, at last.

In November, Jessica signed a two-year contract to join the team at LeBauer Primary Care at MedCenter High Point. Still, she can hardly believe it’s true.

Housed inside the YWCA Greensboro, the United Way’s Family Success Center provides long-term coaching to families, including Jessica and her three children. As Cone Health strategizes to build a pipeline of medical professionals, United Way and Truist Foundation are crucial donors and partners. Combined, their gifts exceed half a million dollars to help fulfill a critical mission: helping low- and moderate-income individuals improve their economic mobility by developing career-ready skills.

There’s a big difference between having a job and building a career, and Jessica knows it well. While one provides a paycheck, the other brings a sense of purpose.

The truth about Jessica is that she never imagined being able to attain a career. As a young, single mother, she’s spent more than a decade working long hours in multiple jobs to keep herself and her children afloat. In addition to cleaning houses, she provided long-term care for a dementia patient. For five years, she would return home from a 12-hour night shift at 7:30 in the morning to attend to her children, ensure they were ready for school, and then manage household chores and appointments before finally getting some rest.

“I think that’s where a lot of my anxiety came from,” Jessica says. “It was a heavy load. I had almost no downtime to take a breath, but I was doing what I had to do.”

She certainly couldn't fathom adding school to her hectic schedule.

When Success Coach Shaynie McDuffie recommended her for the accelerated CMA Academy, Jessica began to dream. Here was an opportunity to get paid while earning a Certified Medical Assistant credential that would pave the way for a fulfilling career — in just six months. 

“Jessica is motivated,” Shaynie says. “I described the rigor of the program — five full days a week, homework, working in a clinic — and her instant reaction was, ‘I can do this, I’m going to make myself and my children proud.’ Over time I’ve watched her gain her independence and own her future.”

Jessica had earned a certified nurse assistant license in 2013, but at that time, her first child was just a toddler and Jessica was still adjusting to the responsibility of motherhood.

“I was such a nervous wreck back then, trying to get my feet under me as a teen mom. I let the CNA slip away,” she reflects. “Instead, I did home care and house cleaning. I also worked at a chicken farm, getting all the eggs together. I just never really dreamed of a career. I didn’t have anybody to show me the way.”

Jessica now has a trusted mentor in Tammy King. King is a registered nurse with 24 years of experience and a master’s of advanced nursing education under her belt. As an instructor for the CMA Academy, she trains the next generation who will care for our community. The Academy was an idea that took root during the COVID-19 pandemic, when all health systems faced a shortage of medical professionals. Cone Health swiftly established an in-house, six-month program training both clinical and nonclinical employees to become certified. With Tammy at the helm, the student pass rate is 100% and test scores are 19% above the national average.

When Tammy met Jessica, she sensed her strong desire to participate in the program. “Jessica embodies all of the attributes that Cone Health and United Way envisioned when we created the CMA Academy workforce program. She is a very humble, passionate and hard-working young lady who has worked hard to pull away from circumstances that held her captive.”

Tammy provided educational and emotional support for Jessica and observed her transformation over the six months. “She dedicated herself to gaining strong clinical skills, but it is Jessica’s caring spirit that will make her a successful health care professional.”

Talking about her beloved instructor prompts the same response as the badge: tears.

“It took a lot of people to believe in me in order for me to believe in myself, and Tammy was one of them. She is so smart and gracious, so easy to talk to. She lights the fire under you because she believes in you,” Jessica says. “We all need that person in our lives.”

Jessica found additional support in her class. “We always had each other’s backs,” she says of her fellow classmates. “Our highs were rooting each other on and watching each other succeed at the really hard things, like practicing injections and tying tourniquets. Our lows were getting thrown into a clinic without feeling that we were ready. But by the end of the day, we had it down.”

At graduation, the students celebrated one another and themselves.

“One of the guys in class – we called him Brother John because he was a preacher – he blessed our hands. The entire ceremony was so beautiful. So many tears of joy.”

Next, it was time to interview for a job. It was no secret that Jessica hoped to continue on where she’d worked her clinical externship, LeBauer Primary Care at MedCenter High Point.

During her last few weeks, she’d noticed candidates coming in for interviews. They looked sharp and experienced.

When it came time for her own interview, she reminded herself what Tammy had asked her during the screening process for the CMA Academy several months prior.

“Tammy said, ‘If someone wrote a book about you, what would they call it?’ and I said, ‘The Girl Who Never Gave Up.’ This opportunity to go through the CMA Academy was right there knocking and I knew I had to push through. ‘No’ was not an answer. This was my chance to change my life.”

With that same sense of fortitude, Jessica interviewed successfully and secured the job of her dreams, working with the team of her dreams.

“When they told me, I cried. It’s like this place was built for me and these people were put there for me to come work with. We get along so well. And I’m so much more confident now. You would think I have no anxiety at all. Every day when I walk into the office and see my desk, I think, ‘Wow, that’s my desk.’”

More than anything, Jessica loves to care for people.

“I want to be the smiling face patients see when I open the door and call their name. Some don’t have family and haven’t seen anyone for a week or two, and I get to talk to them. I always say, ‘How are you?’ and most say, ‘Not too good’ and I tell them, ‘We’re going to figure it out.’”

That’s why Jessica is excited to be in the health care field. “I feel like I can be part of a change for people,” she says. “I can make sure they know they are cared for. I’ll always be right there, smiling.”

Smiling and proudly wearing her badge.

“If you could have seen my life a year ago and heard the thoughts in my head. ‘What am I going to do? How can I ever afford to go back to school?’ And now here I am. I never thought something like this was possible.”

Offering the CMA Academy to community members is one of the best things that Cone Health and its partners can do — for our workforce, our patients, Jessica, and the thousands of bright, empathetic individuals like her.

“I hope we can continue this for a long time,” Shaynie says. “Already, the accelerated CMA Academy has opened a lot of doors for hard-working people trying to maintain their household and care for their families. Yes, it takes dedication, but not having to worry about childcare or how to juggle work and school provides a great pathway for those who want a career.”

And for those like Jessica, who want to dedicate their lives to helping others.