HCA Healthcare Foundation grants $52K to Columbia State College
Grant to provide scholarships to students in the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant program
TriStar Health, part of HCA Healthcare, announced today that the HCA Healthcare Foundation has awarded $52,000 to Columbia State Community College to support the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) program. The grant will provide funding in 2025 that supports 26 students in completing the program for a cost to each student of $99. The CCMA program serves students in Williamson, Maury and surrounding counties.
“We are proud that the HCA Healthcare Foundation is supporting Columbia State Community College and providing opportunities for students to pursue healthcare careers,” said Mitch Edgeworth, president of the HCA Healthcare TriStar Division. "Our academic partners are vital to providing a talented healthcare workforce that will deliver compassionate, high-quality care for our community.”
The CCMA program is part of the Columbia State Workforce and Continuing Education department and is designed to train students in essential clinical tasks within a medical office. The 14-week program prepares students to take certification exams to become medical assistants. It includes 140 hours of classroom instruction and hands-on labs at the Williamson campus, with an optional 160-hour clinical externship with a local healthcare provider.
TriStar Health has supported Columbia State for many years, providing healthcare expertise to advisory committees for the nursing and emergency medical services programs. In addition, five Columbia State health sciences programs participate in clinical rotations through many TriStar Health hospitals, including TriStar Centennial, TriStar StoneCrest, TriStar Horizon, TriStar Southern Hills, TriStar Skyline and Pinewood Springs Mental Health and Wellness. In Maury County, radiology students gain experience at TriStar Spring Hill ER.
“We are grateful to HCA Healthcare and TriStar Health for their historic partnership, and we are thankful to the HCA Healthcare Foundation for providing financial support for the CCMA program to help students succeed,” said Bethany Lay, vice president for advancement and executive director of the Columbia State Community College Foundation. “Students enrolled in short-term credential programs face limited funding options, and this grant will allow more students to access our program and begin pursuing their healthcare career.”
The funding for the grant is part of HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Middle Tennessee Fund, which supports organizations that provide services in health and well-being, basic needs, primary care, education and the arts. To date in 2024, the Middle Tennessee Fund of the HCA Healthcare Foundation awarded over $6.7 million in grants to 204 nonprofit agencies across Middle Tennessee, supporting more than 4.2 million community members.
To learn more about the CCMA program, please email WorkforceDev@ColumbiaState.edu. Registration for the spring cohort begins on December 16.