CMS students gain healthcare experience through Atrium internship program

CHARLOTTE — Atrium Health is working with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to help tackle a statewide shortage of healthcare workers.

The paid internship program is made possible through a partnership between CMS, Atrium Health, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Carolinas College of Health Sciences. It’s giving high school students hands-on experience, college credit and a direct path to careers in healthcare.

Through the internship, Hawthorne Academy senior Mikenzie Hayes is getting a head start on her future. She told Channel 9’s Miana Massey that watching her mother’s health struggles inspired her to pursue a career in healthcare.

“I tend to see not a lot of medical professionals or doctors who look like me, so I want to be able to step in and take initiative and help provide the care that they need,” Hayes said.

Hayes has high hopes of becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist, or CRNA. Her supervisors say she’s already making an impact, helping with patient care, collecting data and more.

“It’s been great to see her involved,” Missy Newbauer, the nurse manager, said.

The program is now in its second year. Leaders say it comes at a critical time as healthcare systems across the country continue to face long-term workforce shortages.

“It’s about providing students the opportunity to envision for themselves a future in healthcare,” Chelsea Rigler, director of workforce initiatives at Atrium, said. “We’re really helping to bridge the gap between classroom learning and on-the-job experiences.”

For Hayes, the opportunity is already opening doors. After graduation, she plans to finish the degree she’s already started and return to the place it all began.

“I’m so grateful to be a part of this,” she said. “I’m happy to get the opportunity that not a lot of kids my age have. I’m able to get ahead of the game.”

Healthcare remains one of the fastest growing industries. Programs like these are designed to connect students directly to those opportunities.

©2026 Cox Media Group