Western Carolina University

June 16-22, 2013

Targeting Underrepresented Minority and Economically Disadvantaged Rising Seventh and Eighth Grade Students

The Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) and Western Carolina University (WCU) will host its 18th Annual Health Careers Summer Camp at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC the week of June 16-22, 2013. The camp is open to rising seventh and eighth grade students who have a potential interest in a future career in healthcare. We would like to thank you for the ongoing support that you provide your students. We could not be successful in reaching your students without support from our partners in the education community.

This camp is part of the North Carolina Area Health Education Center’s (NC AHEC) mission to improve the supply and distribution of the healthcare workforce by providing support at every link of the educational pipeline. The cost to attend the camp is one hundred dollars ($100), plus a ten dollar ($10) application fee.  The application fee is refundable for students not selected to attend the camp. Students on free or reduced lunch are eligible for a partial scholarship but are still required to submit the ten dollar ($10) application fee. All checks or money orders should be made payable to MAHEC. No cash please.   Please see the camp brochure included in your packet for more information.

We are inviting all students to apply; however, special emphasis should be made to encourage minorities and economically disadvantaged students. Statistics show that in all health professions, minority populations continue to be underrepresented relative to the overall population in the state. The United States Department of Health and Human Services states that “increasing the number of minority health professionals is viewed as a partial solution to improving access and delivery of health care and decreasing disparities in healthcare.”

Selection Criteria and Deadlines:

• Application Packet and Faculty Recommendation Form should be provided to those students who may have a potential interest in a career in healthcare.

• The application deadline is Friday, March 15, 2013 at 5pm.  Applications received after the deadline and incomplete applications will not be considered.

• The Committee will review completed applications and select students based on the selection criteria with strong emphasis on the faculty recommendation.

• Selected students will be mailed a confirmation package on or before Monday, April 8, that must be completed and returned to WCU no later than Monday, May 6 along with the one-hundred dollar ($100) camp fee.  Students on free and reduced lunch who were approved for a partial scholarship will owe the required balance approved for your student.  All payments must accompany the confirmation packet to be considered.  The above-mentioned deadlines will be strongly adhered to.

I want to thank you in advance for your support of this program and for helping your students take the first step toward a potential career in healthcare. Please assist your parents and students by providing them the application packet and encouraging them to complete the application prior to the March 15, 2013 deadline. You may direct parents and students that are interested in this program to complete the enclosed application packet or download the application at http://healthcamp.wcu.edu/. Also, feel free to make copies of any information included in this packet. The Western Carolina University Office of Educational Outreach is providing coordination of the 2013 MAHEC/WCU Health Careers Summer Camp. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact Bobby Hensley at WCU toll free at (800) 928-4968 or 828-227-7397 or hensley@wcu.edu or Jacquelyn Hallum at MAHEC at 828-257-4479 or jacquelyn.hallum@mahec.net.