Fayetteville Technical Community College has been recognized alongside its community partner Cape Fear Valley Health and fellow institutions Bladen Community College, Sandhills Community College and Central Carolina Community College in receiving the Innovative Leadership Award from the N.C. Community College System.

The award recognizes the group for their collaborative efforts to meet the growth of high-demand, high-wage careers in the health and healthcare support industries.

FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells joined Cape Fear Valley Health CEO Mike Nagowski and leadership from the other recipients at the inaugural Workforce Development Pinnacle Awards, held by the state community college system Wednesday evening in Cary.

Sorrells said FTCC is committed to training students in the healthcare field while giving them the opportunity to work, immediately making an impact on local workforce needs.

"The hospital has been very innovative in looking at how they can better utilize staff…in order to share the workload," Sorrells said in a press release. "The Comfort Runner program is an optional employment for students who are interested in going in[to] the nurse aide (program) where they get a job at the hospital. The job at the hospital has flexible hours around their school schedule, so they can complete the nurse aide program and then be hired at the hospital."

Nagowski praised the community colleges for being "a joy to work with," saying they’ve been nimble and responsive to local needs.

"When I think about what this award means, I think it talks about the integration between two organizations doing the best they can to serve their communities," Nagowski said in a release. "We don't think of the community colleges as separate entities. We're all on the same team trying to better our communities and help students learn and aspire to their new careers."

In addition to adding the Comfort Runner program, FTCC has increased the class size of its healthcare programs, including Nursing.

"When we asked them to increase their class size so we can meet the ever-growing need we had at the bedside, they jumped in," Nagowski said. "I hope other organizations see what we’re doing and apply the same partnership principles."

Nagowski said it is rewarding to play a role in the lives of students.

"We're allowing the students to pursue their career aspirations and come out of this with an opportunity to have a job that's really compensated and fully benefitted," he said in the release. "We're more than just someone who hires graduates from the colleges. We're really integrated into the education. When we look to grow and expand the needs of our workforce, it's just natural to reach out to the community colleges."