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To celebrate the growth and accomplishments of the Healthcare Advancement Resource Center (HARC), there will be a ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. at HARC鈥檚 new home, 315 Springfield Road. Following the ribbon-cutting, at 5 p.m. there will be a networking happy hour in Grewen Aud.

All members of the campus community are invited to attend both events, which are being co-hosted by the CenterState CEO Ambassadors and the HARC Advisory Council.

Launched in 2020 thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (MCHF), HARC helps healthcare workers who received their education and training in a foreign country to obtain credentials, certifications and additional training or education needed to work in the healthcare sector in the United States.聽Since its inception, HARC growth has remained consistent, enrolling and offering case management services to more than 175 participants from over 35 countries, with plans to enroll 50 more foreign-trained medical graduates interested in U.S. healthcare and to enhance its existing services.聽To date, HARC has received nearly $1.2 million in funding from the MCHF.

鈥淲e couldn’t have envisioned a more exciting way to celebrate our fourth anniversary聽than with the ongoing funding from the MCHF,聽new office space, three nurses passing NCLEX and five doctors accessing medical residency placement in 2023,鈥� said HARC Director Rwanda Stella. 鈥淲e will leverage our funding to聽accelerate programming to support internationally trained medical professionals, scale our team and expand our partnerships during 2024.鈥�

HARC鈥檚 new location provides room for expansion and has office spaces for HARC director and Educational Case Managers Kathy Elbadawi and Kim Rodriguez. There is also a shared space on the first floor for two part-time instructors, Tim Gill and Donna Ziolla, and three Ignatian Volunteer staff,聽Geri Wagner, Don Wagner and Joan Arno. Additionally, the lower level has space for workshops and instructional classes for up to 15 participants, providing room for one-on-one and small group sessions.

It聽will聽also聽allow聽HARC聽to increase the services it provides, which include career coaching, resume and cover letter writing, personal statement review for academic and medical residency applications, mock interview workshops, online employment application assistance, English for healthcare professional classes and computer literacy classes. Rwanda said there are plans to invite guest speakers from the local healthcare community to engage with HARC members and connect them with employment opportunities.

Yamira Guzman, a medical doctor from Cuba, is one of five HARC members who matched in the March 2023 residency application process and has started the family medicine residency program at Mohawk Valley Hospital in Utica, N.Y. She recently shared the role that the HARC played in her recertification pathway. 鈥淭he HARC not only provides English language services, resume creation and medical licensure application support, but they offer financial assistance when we need it most to pay for the many fees in the U.S. licensure process.鈥�

Leon Ronoh, a HARC member and doctor from Kenya who聽has successfully passed all three USMLE exams and the OET (Occupational English Test),聽summed up his feelings about the HARC: “I appreciate the work of the HARC because I have found that attending events and meeting others in person is therapeutic; the shared stories provide community and connectedness when it is needed most.” Leon has recently accepted a聽medical science teaching fellowship at the聽American University of Antigua.