Elkin, NC – May 29, 2025. – The Hugh Chatham Health Foundation has been awarded a $1,000,000 grant from The Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation. This funding will materially advance Hugh Chatham Health’s talent development and workforce strategy dedicated to establishing the next generation of healthcare professionals in the community, said foundation leaders.
Hugh Chatham’s Healthcare Education Program provides students with practical experience and hands-on training in a supportive environment, fostering a workforce that is prepared for the evolving healthcare industry. The grant funding will enhance the existing partnership with Surry-Yadkin Works, allowing for expanded resources, improved training programs, and innovative educational opportunities for aspiring healthcare workers.
“The Armfield Foundation is so excited to partner with Hugh Chatham Health, Surry-Yadkin Works and Surry Community College in their healthcare education initiative. We have long supported Surry County students on their path toward higher education with the goal of careers that can impact both the students and their communities. Supporting apprenticeships is the next evolution for these efforts, and we are thrilled for the opportunity to invest in an initiative that we believe is a model for our state and country”, said Mindy Oakley, Executive Director of The Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Foundation.
“We are deeply grateful to the Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation for their generous investment in the future of our local workforce. This support strengthens our ongoing partnership with the Surry-Yadkin Works program and helps us provide meaningful, hands-on healthcare experiences to students right here in our community. By investing in these young minds today, we’re building the healthcare leaders of tomorrow,” said Katee Hettleman, Executive Director of the Hugh Chatham Health Foundation
This grant is an important step forward in promoting healthcare education and workforce development, ensuring that residents of the Surry and Yadkin counties have access to excellent healthcare services delivered by highly trained professionals.
Surry-Yadkin Works is the first community-based internship program of its kind in North Carolina, officially beginning on January 1, 2021, covering a two-county region. Surry-Yadkin Works is the collaborative effort of four public school systems in Surry and Yadkin counties including Elkin City Schools, Mount Airy City Schools, Surry County Schools, and Yadkin County Schools, as well as Surry Community College, to create an innovative and unique approach to a regional internship program. The funding is also a joint effort with commitments from the Surry County Commissioners and the Yadkin County Commissioners. For more information about the Surry-Yadkin Works program, contact Crystal Folger-Hawks, Surry-Yadkin Works Program Director, at (336) 401-7820 or folger-hawksc@surry.edu or visit www.surryyadkinworks.org.
About Hugh Chatham Health (www.hughchatham.org) is an independent, not-for-profit community health care network of physician clinics and an 81-bed acute care hospital that delivers high quality, convenient healthcare to residents of the Yadkin Valley region of North Carolina and southwestern Virginia. Employing more than 900 team members, Hugh Chatham Health includes a medical group with more than 70 providers across 24 locations and six counties. Headquartered in Elkin, North Carolina, Hugh Chatham has been nationally recognized for patient satisfaction, patient safety, and clinical quality.
