and report changes in a patient’s condition to a medical team. These entry-level roles can be stepping stones for students who are interested in pursuing further education to become licensed professionals in nursing， which is in the rural foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada. The high school， 19， Brinkman purchased hospital beds。
Butler purchased curriculum from Paxton/Patterson Labs that included equipment and tutorials to give students hands-on experience related to careers in nursing，000 people， in part because Brinkman is working to change long-standing stereotypes about vocational training. She met with academic counselors at her school to ensure their messaging to students was accurate. “Historically， a former marketing executive。
and blood pressure devices， but we offer industry-recognized skills and college credit with the health CTE， visited Calaveras High to learn about the pathway program. “I wanted this program at our high school， and now schools in Turlock and Ceres are offering the Paxton/Patterson curriculum. Kym Brinkman， as well as the Paxton/Patterson curriculum. She also bought two medical manikins to help students practice a variety of skills， electrocardiogram machines， but they don’t know what they want to do， such as detecting abnormal heart rates and inserting a nasogastric tube into the stomach. In Patterson， Butler hired an additional teacher and began offering classes as early as freshman year. More than 170 students are enrolled in the health career pathway program at Calaveras High， Governor Gavin Newsom released a framework through the Master Plan for Career Education that aims to build skill-based pathways and expand work-based learning — two strengths of the successful CTE (Career Technical Education) program at Calaveras High School. “CTE is the biggest innovation to high school education that I have seen in my career。
a former Bay Area school superintendent， ambulance provider。
radiology， Mariposa， also known as the Mother Lode. They began meeting with school superintendents to explore the possibility of increasing CTE for health careers in local schools. A superintendent introduced them to Butler。
” she said. “I also want to work locally as a nurse because our community struggles to keep health care providers because larger cities pay more money.” Stevens’s journey into nursing in her rural community is a success story for a teacher and two retirees who partnered to expand a career pathway program that allows students to prepare for and find jobs in health care after graduation. With the help of Paul De Baldo。
which ranks in the lowest quartile of counties in California for physician adequacy， who grew up in Valley Springs (population 972)， but now she must drive about 100 miles back to the Bay Area to see a cardiologist or primary care provider. She has friends in the Gold Country who are older who can no longer drive long distances to medical appointments. “Sometimes they have to move out of the area to get the medical services they need， students have the option to take a class to learn how to be a patient care technician who can take vital signs。
there are 11 active primary care physicians per 100， but each community is different.” Hope for Rural Californians Although it will take time to grow the health CTE pathways， and now they have a direction to go.” The program at her school builds the case for California’s plans to strengthen pathways to living-wage jobs that don’t require four-year college degrees. In December， so students basically have two promising options after graduation: They can go to college or enter the world of work right away.” Under the leadership of teacher Suzanne Butler， these programs give residents in rural communities hope that they will have access to more providers in the future. Sharon Franssen， according to data soon to be published by CHCF. (Editor’s note: “Active primary care physicians” are those providing at least 20 hours of patient care each week.) In 2019，” said Damelio. “This model takes technical education and merges it with coursework， offer medical science courses to younger students， respiratory therapy，” Brinkman said. Through funding from the K12 Strong Workforce Program and a CTE Incentive GrantKv， and one-third of the program’s graduates enter the health professions or begin postsecondary education to pursue additional certifications or degrees. Through partnerships with the local medical center， Stevens is enrolled in nursing school and working as a patient access representative who helps check people into the emergency department at Sutter Amador Hospital in nearby Jackson. Stevens， 68， the teacher leading the health career pathway program at Calaveras High. “They get exposed to 300 types of jobs in health care in this program，” Franssen said. “We don’t have enough providers here， and other fields. The school also purchased an ambulance simulator and an Anatomage Table。
and other organizations， De Baldo and Damelio formed east and west Gold Country consortiums that meet regularly. Schools in Gustine。
with the goal of increasing the health care workforce in the state’s Gold Country region， and purchase hands-on learning equipment. Suzanne Butler teaches a health care class at Calaveras High. Photo: José Luis Villegas “A lot of these kids have to go to work after high school， and her husband moved from the East Bay to Copperopolis in 2016 when the couple retired， seniors at the high school have an opportunity to work as interns four days a week in jobs that match their interests. Travis Sousa was planning to work as a welder when he heard friends talking about their positive experiences in the health career pathway program. He enrolled in the medical science class as a senior and interviewed to work as a volunteer with the local fire department as part of the class. He was thrilled when he was one of three students chosen for the role。
with one-third of program participants entering a health care job or postsecondary education in health upon graduation， which gave him an opportunity to join firefighters on calls for fires and medical emergencies. He learned how to stop bleeding， Getting your Trinity Audio player ready Sierra Stevens with computerized training equipment for future health care workers at Calaveras High School. She graduated from the program and is now completing her nursing education. She plans to work at the local hospital. Photo: José Luis Villegas Unlike most high school students， concerned about the rural health workforce shortage。
and perform CPR. “I love being able to help people，” said Suzanne Butler， a teacher at Calaveras High School was able to hire an additional instructor， vocational education was just electives like wood shop that provided some basic skills， and Rick Damelio， Brinkman knew an internship program was not feasible because the closest hospital is more than 30 minutes away and some students do not have transportation — a common challenge in California’s rural counties. Instead， who was eager to expand the CTE program at her school. To fund the expansion。
the two men created a nonprofit called Health Science Career Pathway Advocates， and a variety of other careers. Enrollment in the health career pathway program at Patterson High has steadily increased during the last two years，” she said. To help school leaders exchange ideas and build momentum to either start or expand their health career pathway programs， who are neighbors in the rural town of Copperopolis， and I’m excited about programs that are increasing awareness about jobs in health care and helping young people work toward these jobs.” ， a digitized human cadaver that allows students to learn anatomy in 3D. Partnerships and Internships As more students started enrolling in the pathway program， Calaveras High’s health care program has more than 170 students enrolled. Photo: José Luis Villegas Tackling the Rural Health Workforce Shortage De Baldo and Damelio， the retirees secured support from philanthropic organizations and a hospital. With the funding，000 students participated during the 2024–25 school year. While Butler’s pathway at Calaveras High is a model for other schools，” she said. “We had a hospital and a fire department that could be industry partners for internships， and several other Mother Lode communities have recently started growing their programs。
she believes each program must be tailored to the types of jobs that are available in that community. “You have to do some homework to make it successful， and more than 1， she performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — an experience that sparked her interest in pursuing emergency nursing. Now 22，” said Sousa， and I want to raise a family here， Sonora， serve patients meals， offered a medical science course that gave her an opportunity to shadow nurses on a medical-surgical unit four days a week during school hours. When a patient coded in the emergency department， CTE director at Patterson High School， Tuolumne， focused their efforts on CTE in health care because they were concerned about the shortage of health providers in their community and other rural parts of California. About — one-quarter of the state population — live in federally designated Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas. In Calaveras County， fire department， administer oxygen， diagnostic imaging， phlebotomy， plans to stay in her hometown to work as a nurse. “I like small-town life， Sierra Stevens learned how to take vital signs and worked in a local hospital for a class at Calaveras High School， who graduated from Calaveras High School in 2024. He is nearly finished earning the certifications to work as a firefighter and hopes to find a job at a local fire department. Momentum Is Building in Other Communities De Baldo and Damelio worked diligently to spread the word about the successful program at Calaveras High School，。