The need for qualified health care professionals is growing every year, and the predictions for these positions are that they will continue to increase over the next twenty years.  In an effort to combat employment shortages in health care, a partnership was formed between Pitt County Schools and several other organizations, including Vidant Health, Pitt Community College, East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, the Eastern Area Health Education Center, and the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce.  The goal of this partnership was to find a way to “home grow” the future health care workforce for eastern North Carolina.  Out of this partnership arose the Pitt County Schools’ Health Sciences Academy.