Center Director, David Gross, Invited to Present at a National Conference

David Gross, St. Claire HealthCare (SCH) Administrative Director for Education and Research and Director of Northeast Kentucky Area Health Education Center (AHEC), has been invited by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)’s Health Innovations Task Force to present and discuss innovative approaches to support the healthcare workforce.

Gross will be speaking to a well-versed group consisting of health-focused legislators, legislative staff, and private sector sponsors on July 31 in Denver, Colorado.

“It’s quite an honor to be asked to speak to state legislators from across the nation,” said Gross. “I’m excited to use the opportunity to highlight St. Claire and AHEC, as well as our successful strategies for ‘growing our own’ future healthcare providers.”

With Gross’ guidance, SCH and AHEC have partnered to create thriving programs like the award-winning Successfully Training and Educating Pre-Medical Students (STEPS) program that provides college students the opportunity to receive The Princeton Review MCAT prep program, mock interview sessions, personal statement reviews, job shadowing, and community service. They have also successfully gained $2.5 million per year from July 2022-June 2024 for the statewide AHEC program to expand health careers pipeline initiatives.

“Rural areas like Northeastern Kentucky by nature must be innovative, so I’m looking forward to sharing information about our creative approaches to workforce development with the NCSL’s Health Innovations Task Force,” said Gross.