Newsweek Features District’s HEAL Program at Nimitz High School

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Thanks to a $31 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the program is a partnership between Aldine ISD and Memorial Hermann Health System.

HEAL program students at Nimitz HS prepare for a simulated training experience with a mannequin.

Newsweek published the story on December 30, 2024. Below are excerpts from the article by Alexis Kayser, Newsweeks‘ healthcare editor.

Health care faces significant workforce shortages poised to worsen in the coming years. Healthcare workers are in high demand. Students who enter the field will likely enjoy high wages and job stability — and the HEAL Program at Nimitz High School aims to help them get there.

Students accepted to the Choice School/CTE option (Students residing outside of Aldine ISD can also apply.), which opened in the fall of 2024, can choose from five pathways: nursing, medical imaging, pharmacy, health care business administration, or physical and occupational rehabilitation. By graduation, they will have obtained a high school degree and a professional certification that will allow them to apply for jobs in their chosen field (such as pharmacy technician, phlebotomist, or clinical medical assistant roles). Every student who completes the program will have a guaranteed priority interview at Memorial Hermann.

HEAL (Health Education And Learning) will also aid students seeking a college education. In addition to graduating with 15 to 24 transferable college credits, students will have the support of Memorial Hermann staff and mentors who can help them prepare for applications and interviews.

A group of HEAL program students used virtual reality headsets during summer orientation. Similar headsets were used in the fall to simulate patient interactions inside the school.

As they progress through the program, students receive more hands-on training. For example, ninth and 10th graders receive just over 30 hours of simulation training and mentorship each academic year. By 11th and 12th grade, that instruction has more than doubled to 80 hours.

The high school is building simulation labs that will emulate the hospital rooms at Memorial Hermann. About $6 billion of grant funding has been allotted to the project, which will take up around 6,500 square feet of the high school.

A HEAL High School student practices bedside manner at a Memorial Hermann hospital.

When the labs are completed in the fall of 2025, students can practice in faux medical-surgical suites, intensive care units, nursing stations, and radiology suites. A pretend pharmacy will have the same inventory control systems and devices that real pharmacists use. Students will also use virtual reality headsets, mannequins, and other medical devices to practice skills without risk.

High school and health system leaders who spoke with Newsweek noted that students have changed professionally and personally over the first semester, becoming more confident and self-assured.

Ricardo Flores, a baseball player who aspires to become a sports medicine doctor, is wrapping up his first semester at HEAL. He starts the day in his “normal classes,” like math and biology, and then moves on to health care classes, like medical terminology and principles of exercise.

Flores told Newsweek he enjoys the hands-on curriculum, which has included CPR training and trips to the hospital so far. When the ninth-grader is on Memorial Hermann’s campus, he catches glimpses of his potential.

Visiting the hospital “felt good,” Flores said, “because I felt like that was going to be me in the future, so I really saw myself there.”

Click here to read Kayser’s full article and get the inside scoop on the healthcare high school’s inaugural semester. Click here to learn more about the HEAL Program at Nimitz High School.