$10,000 Awarded to West River Area Health Education Center

South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) recently awarded a $10,000 South Dakota Fund grant to the West River Area Health Education Center (WRAHEC). Funding will support new ways to bring healthcare career explorations to students in western South Dakota via virtual reality software.

“The West River Area Health Education Center was established with the goal of connecting students to healthcare careers in western South Dakota. Recently, we have experienced an increase in requests to bring healthcare career experiential learning into high schools. The grant funds awarded by the South Dakota Community Foundation will enable us to bring SimX software delivered through virtual reality headsets into schools, making healthcare simulation training more easily accessible and affordable than traditional simulation methods. The portability and interactive nature of SimX makes this healthcare experience one which all high school students can learn from and enjoy,” says Stephanie Mayfield, Director, WRAHEC.

The mission of WRAHEC is to create collaborations and programs which inspire people to pursue healthcare careers and equip healthcare professionals to serve in rural and underserved communities throughout western South Dakota. WRAHEC works with students grades 6-12 to explore the many careers in healthcare to start creating a continual workforce pipeline for healthcare.

“South Dakota is projected to have one of the largest national nursing shortages within the decade. We applaud WRAHEC’s forward thinking and making experimental learning opportunities available in western South Dakota,” says Ginger Niemann, SDCF Senior Program Officer.

To learn more about funding opportunities offered by the SDCF, please visit our website at https://www.sdcommunityfoundation.org/grants