It’s no secret that new industry in the county will mean increased need for automotive workers, but with that comes a need for more employees in other areas, too — including health care.

To that end, Holly Tiemann and the health science course at Limestone County Career Technical Center are working to make sure the 30-plus students in her classroom each year are not just ready to graduate high school but ready to join the workforce as certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Through partnerships with local medical professionals and facilities, tech center students also gain an idea of what they want to do with their skills and career after high school.

“It helps them figure out what they want to do and who they want to be,” Tiemann said. “They all have that common thought of, ‘I want to help people; I want to be in health care,’ but they don’t really know exactly what they want to do.”

In the program, students from all six high schools in the Limestone County Schools system spend time in a lab and classroom learning what CNAs do and practicing some of the skills they’ll need on the job. Then, they get to visit Limestone Health Facility to practice with live patients and learn from CNAs already working in the field. On Wednesday, students could be found changing sheets, refilling water cups and checking vitals.

“They get to come out here and put those skills to the test,” said Wade Menefee, director of nursing at LHF.

Menefee is a former tech center student. He got his certification shortly after high school and worked as a CNA while attending Calhoun Community College, where he completed the licensed practical nurse and registered nurse programs. He said completing the program at the tech center “absolutely” gave him an advantage over his nursing school classmates.

“It prepares you for actual nursing school, as far as terminology and abbreviations,” Menefee said. “Most nursing and all that has its own separate language. … You get that basic knowledge, then you actually can go to work and be working while in nursing school.”

Students today can earn their certification before graduating high school, thanks to a partnership with a Colbert County school. Their health science teacher visits LCCTC to serve as a testing proctor, and in return, Tiemann visits their school to do the same.

LCCTC also has partnerships with various professionals in Limestone County to help students determine what they’d like to do with their nursing degree. Tiemann said after 24 hours of work at the nursing home, students rotate through different departments at Athens-Limestone Hospital and can further study at Limestone Veterinary Clinic, Athens Pharmacy, Brightstart Pediatrics, Carlotta OBGYN PC, Encore Rehab or Valley Smiles Dental.

“I let them pick what their top five are, and then I rotate them through at least their top five,” Tiemann said.

Ardmore High School seniors Emma Parker, Brooklyn Calder and Morgan Embrey already know what they’d like to do. Parker said she’d like to work in geriatric nursing, while Calder wants to work in a labor and delivery or emergency department, and Embrey said she’s got her sights on an intensive care unit.

“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse,” Calder said.

All three said they were nervous on their first day in the field, but it didn’t take long for that feeling to dissipate.

“The first week, you’re real nervous about messing up, and then it becomes natural,” Parker said.

After graduation, they each plan to attend the University of North Alabama, but Calder said she might go to Calhoun for her basics first. Whatever the plan, Tiemann said having their CNA certification will earn them extra points when applying for nursing school.

“The nursing schools in our area are super competitive. … CNA certification gets you major points to get in, and just taking our class in general helps with that,” she said. “Over half my class makes up the dual enrollment EMT (emergency medical technician) class we have on campus, too.”

Tiemann said the tech center reaches out to graduates one year after they leave the program to see what they’re doing with the skills and certification they earned. Many are working as CNAs, and some are working while also trying to get into nursing school.