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TriStar Health & HCA Foundation Award $52,000 to Columbia State’s Medical Assistant Program

Issue #294

08 Dec

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

🗓 List of Upcoming Events

🌧 Columbia Weather - Cloudy, Rain at 5pm - high of 54 / low of 49

📰 TriStar Health & HCA Foundation Award $52,000 to Columbia State’s Medical Assistant Program

🎵 Dec. 9 & 10: Nashville Unlimited Christmas w/ Emmylou Harris (and more!)

📌 Dec. 15: Lessons & Carols at St. Peter’s

👉 Check Out The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Fun in Maury County & More Here

🎵 Today’s Live Music

⛑ Looking For Ways to Help Victims of Hurricane Helene? Click Here

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

Upcoming Local Events

🗓 Have an event to add? Send us the Details!

Sunday, December 8th

Monday, December 9th

Tuesday, December 10th

Wednesday, December 11th

Thursday, December 12th

Friday, December 13th

Saturday, December 14th

More dates coming soon!

TriStar Health & HCA Foundation Award $52,000 to Columbia State’s Medical Assistant Program

TriStar Health, a division of HCA Healthcare, has announced that the HCA Healthcare Foundation will award $52,000 to Columbia State Community College to support its Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) program. This grant, effective in 2025, will subsidize the program cost for 26 students, reducing the expense to $99 per participant. The program serves students in Williamson, Maury, and nearby counties.

The CCMA program, part of Columbia State’s Workforce and Continuing Education department, provides 14 weeks of training in essential clinical tasks within medical offices. Students complete 140 hours of classroom instruction and hands-on labs at the Williamson campus, with an optional 160-hour clinical externship at local healthcare facilities. The program prepares students to take certification exams and launch careers in healthcare.

TriStar Health has long partnered with Columbia State, contributing expertise to advisory committees for the college’s nursing and emergency medical services programs. Additionally, students in five Columbia State health sciences programs participate in clinical rotations at TriStar Health facilities, including TriStar Centennial, TriStar StoneCrest, and TriStar Skyline, as well as TriStar Spring Hill ER in Maury County.

The funding comes from the HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Middle Tennessee Fund, which supports initiatives in health, education, and community well-being. In 2024 alone, the fund awarded over $6.7 million in grants to 204 nonprofit organizations, benefiting more than 4.2 million individuals across Middle Tennessee.

Students interested in the CCMA program can contact [email protected]. Registration for the spring cohort opens on December 16.

Dec. 9 & 10: Nashville Unlimited Christmas w/ Emmylou Harris (and more!)

To celebrate their 25th year at Christ Church Cathedral, 900 Broadway, this year’s Nashville Unlimited Christmas Concert will be two nights - Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 9 and 10, 2024 at 7 p.m.

As always, this free concert is produced and hosted by Dave Pomeroy, with a suggested minimum donation of $20. Guests are invited to give more if they feel so moved. So far, they’ve raised more than $520,00 for Room In The Inn with this annual concert. Seating is first come, first serve and the doors open at 6 p.m.

This year’s lineup includes Emmylou Harris, Music Row session wizard Charlie McCoy, gospel group The McCrary Sisters, old-school country-Western group Riders in the Sky, Dobro player Rob Ickes, Dave Matthews Band member Jeff Coffin and the Nashville Jazz Orchestra. As always, you never know what “Mystery Guests” will make an appearance for this special event!

For those outside of Nashville, the show will also be live streamed at www.christcathedral.org

Past performers have included John Prine, The Time Jumpers, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Tommy Emmanuel, Kathy Mattea, The Hot Club of Nashville, Buddy Miller, and many more of Music City’s finest musicians and singers.

Come share the spirit! 

Dec. 15: Lessons & Carols at St. Peter’s

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church presents a service of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 15, at 3:00pm in the St. Peter’s sanctuary located at 311 West 7th Street in downtown Columbia, next door to the Polk Home.

This traditional Anglican service originated in the Church of England in the late 1800s and was later formalized as a Christmas service. After the devastation of World War I it has been broadcast by the BBC around the world ever since. The service includes scripture readings from the Old and New Testaments that tell the story of the birth of Jesus. The remainder of the service includes audience Christmas carols and choir anthems performed by the St. Peter’s Choir. 

“This service emphasizes the importance of music in worship through carols sung by the audience and our choir. The music will feature a variety of familiar favorites and new gems,” says Dr. Peter Douglas, St. Peter’s Director of Music.

“We are thrilled to offer this beautiful and historic worship service to God and share it with the entire community,” said Father Chris Bowhay, St. Peter’s Rector. “Its rhythms of song and Scripture bring a deep sense of peace and wonder as we, like the shepherds and the Wise Men, walk toward Christmas to greet the newborn King.”

This event is free and open to the public with no tickets required. A livestream will be available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stpeters38401 and the St. Peter’s website at https://www.saintpeterscolumbia.org/worship.

🎵 Today’s Live Music

Sunday, December 8th

TBD, Natchez Hills Vineyard, 1-4 PM
County Community Band, Cherry Theater - CSCC, 3 PM
Still Rollin’, The Rebel, 4 PM
Jay Hoppus, Puckett’s, 6-7:30 PM

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