Rural Veterans Rural Health Services Employment Project

The Goal is to impact on 3,000 rural communities:

Health services are the only rural employment sector that is expanding. Rural health services need personnel with the characteristics and skills of today’s veterans: ability to work in a fast-paced, changing and culturally diverse environment; working in and leading teams, preventing and solving problems, designing and implementing projects, and managing logistics. Very importantly, many veterans have extensive data management systems training and experience working in a technology driven environment.

The potentials of the veteran’s community are not well recognized by rural health services. Veterans, many of whom are underemployed, often do not recognize the value of their skills to health services.

In collaboration with National Associations, we will:

Set up demonstrations in several communities to implement and evaluate a practical model program for attracting rural veterans and spouses to jobs and careers in health services.

Disseminate to all rural health services the demonstration experience and lessons learned to encourage them to proactively recruit veterans for non-clinical and health career pathway jobs.

Develop and disseminate strategies to achieve local program sustainability.

The Project:

The core of the model is a 12-14 session career orientation and development program hosted by the hospital. The AHF provided syllabus guides each session supported by on-line content developed by our academic partner Weber State University. The program includes opportunities for mentoring, shadowing, internships, referral, counseling and job placement. AHF works with each demonstration to appoint a program facilitator, recruit participants, set up advisory committees, connect with Veteran’s Service Organizations and involve other health organizations.