Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center Partners with Local Institutions to Create Healthcare Pathway
Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Georgia Highlands College, Georgia Highlands Foundation and Cartersville City Schools Partner to Create Healthcare Career Pathway for Local Students
Organizations to sign agreement establishing the Piedmont Cartersville Pre-Healthcare Pathway, helping students accelerate their journey into healthcare careers
Cartersville, Ga. (July 15, 2026) – Piedmont Cartersville, Georgia Highlands College, the Georgia Highlands College Foundation and Cartersville City Schools will formally sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on July 30, creating an innovative educational partnership designed to strengthen the local healthcare workforce pipeline and provide students with a faster, more affordable path into healthcare careers.
The signing ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30, in the library on the second floor of the Academic A Building at Georgia Highlands College’s Cartersville Campus.
The agreement establishes the Piedmont Cartersville Pre-Healthcare Pathway, a dual enrollment program that allows Cartersville High School students to complete key college-level healthcare prerequisites before graduating from high school. The program is supported by a financial commitment from Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center and is expected to serve approximately 20-25 students annually in its initial phase, with plans to grow to 40-50 students per year as the program expands.
Through the pathway, participating students can complete coursework in anatomy and physiology, microbiology and other foundational college courses that position them to immediately apply for nursing programs or continue their education in health sciences, medicine, physician assistant studies and other healthcare professions.
“This partnership represents an investment in the future of healthcare in our community,” said Lori Rakes, CEO of Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center. “By creating opportunities for local students to begin their healthcare education earlier, we are helping remove barriers to career advancement while building a stronger pipeline of talented healthcare professionals who may one day care for patients right here in our region.”
Through the partnership, Piedmont Cartersville will invest in the future healthcare workforce by funding student educational expenses, instructional resources, faculty support and the development of a medical laboratory at Georgia Highlands College. The collaboration will further recognize Piedmont’s commitment to healthcare education through the naming of a medical laboratory on the college’s Cartersville campus.
“This collaboration demonstrates what can be achieved when education and healthcare organizations work together to meet the needs of students and the community,” said Dr. Mike Hobbs, president of Georgia Highlands College. “By providing students with a clear and direct pathway into healthcare careers, we are helping them save time and money while preparing them to meet the growing workforce needs of our region. Georgia Highlands College is proud to play a role in this partnership which will impact local students, local healthcare and the communities we serve well into the future.”
Students enrolled in the pathway will have the opportunity to complete nursing prerequisites and other foundational coursework while still in high school, potentially allowing them to enter nursing programs sooner and accelerate their progress toward licensure and employment. The program is also designed to support students pursuing a variety of healthcare careers by providing a strong academic foundation that can transfer toward advanced degrees and professional programs.
“This partnership creates meaningful opportunities for our students to explore healthcare careers while earning valuable college credit,” said Marc Feuerbach, superintendent of Cartersville City Schools. “We are excited to work alongside Piedmont Cartersville and Georgia Highlands College to provide students with experiences that support their academic success and future career goals.”
The Piedmont Cartersville Pre-Healthcare Pathway aligns with the shared goal of preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals while helping address workforce needs across Northwest Georgia. Through this partnership, students will gain access to educational experiences that reduce the time and cost required to enter healthcare careers while creating a sustainable talent pipeline for the future.
Event Information:
What: Signing Ceremony for the Piedmont Cartersville Pre-Healthcare Pathway MOU
When: July 30, 2026, at 11 a.m.
Where: Georgia Highlands College Cartersville Campus, Library, Academic A Building (Second Floor)
Who: Leadership from Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Georgia Highlands College, the Georgia Highlands College Foundation and Cartersville City Schools
About Piedmont
Piedmont is empowering Georgians by changing health care. We continue to fuel Georgia’s growth through safe, cost-effective, high-quality care close to home through an integrated health care system that provides a hassle-free, unified experience. We are a private, not-for-profit organization that for centuries has sought to make a positive difference in every life we touch in the communities we serve. Across our 2,000 physical locations we care for more than 4.5 million patients and serve communities that comprise 85 percent of Georgia’s population. This includes 27 hospitals, 115 immediate care locations, 1,875 Piedmont Clinic physician practices and more than 3,900 Piedmont Clinic members. Our patients conveniently engage with Piedmont online, as they scheduled more than 657,000 online appointments and over 239,000 virtual visits. With nearly 50,000 care givers we are the largest Georgia-based private employer of Georgians, who all came for the job, but stayed for the people. In 2024 and 2023, Piedmont has earned recognition from Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and also as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Women. In 2022, Forbes ranked Piedmont on its list of the Best Large Employers in the United States. Piedmont provided more than $844 million in community impact in Fiscal Year 2024.
For more information, or to book your next appointment, visit piedmont.org.
