Lincoln County Health Academy Program Receives 2025 Governor’s NCWorks Award

The Lincoln County Health Academy has been honored with the 2025 Governor’s NCWorks Award of Distinction for Outstanding Innovative Partnership. The prestigious award recognizes the Academy’s groundbreaking success in addressing critical healthcare workforce shortages and expanding access to high-wage, debt-free careers.

The Academy, which launched in Fall 2024, contributes to the talent pipeline by offering Lincoln County high school students early, hands-on pathways into the Practical Nursing (PN) program. This is the first time in North Carolina that a Practical Nursing program has been made available to high school students, positioning the region among just three nationwide with such an advanced secondary healthcare pathway. Graduates from the Health Academy are eligible to sit for their licensing exams the summer immediately following their high school graduation.

“This award is a testament to the dedication, creativity, and heart that has gone into this partnership,” said Dr. John Hauser, President of Gaston College. “This Academy proves that when education, healthcare, and community partners collaborate, we can build vital career pathways for our students.”

The success of the Academy is due to a strong partnership between the following entities: Gaston College, Lincoln County Schools, and Atrium Health Lincoln, with financial support from the Lincoln County Rotary Student Loan Fund.

During the 2025 NCWorks Partnership Conference, the award was accepted on behalf of the partnership by Dr. John Hauser and Joanne Matz (Gaston College), Dr. Cale Sain (Lincoln County Schools), Melissa Herms (Atrium Health Lincoln), and Anna Mullen (Rotary Rooted Scholarship Fund of Lincoln County).

The academy currently serves 35 students, including seven from the inaugural Practical Nursing cohort and 28 who enrolled in the second cohort.