The Pima County Board of Supervisors Monday unanimously supported a partnership with Tucson Medical Center that has the potential to infuse as much as $11 million in new federal healthcare funds into the local economy.

The initiative not only meshes with Pima County’s goal of reinforcing community health and wellness, but will help support Southern Arizona’s largest community hospital and a key driver of the local economy.

It is also part of a broader goal to enhance economic development opportunities, since access to healthcare is critical for business expansion and relocation.

TMC is eligible to draw down as much as $8.5 million in federal funding for ongoing physician training activities. The hospital trains an average of 50 physicians annually in internal medicine and general surgery through programs affiliated with the University of Arizona.

TMC also is eligible to secure federal funds set aside to help hospitals that provide a disproportionate share of indigent care. TMC wrote off $40 million in charity care and bad debt charges in 2011, with that number expected to climb to $70 million in 2012.

Because both of these new opportunities require a local match partner, Pima County’s $5.4 million investment ensures a 2-for-1 match will come back to the region to help build a healthy, sustainable community.

Discussions are under way with TMC to come up with creative strategies to ensure the budget is made whole and that the County will be better positioned to meet mandates for medical and behavioral health services.

“In this time of increasingly limited resources, it only makes sense to bring as many community partners to the table as possible to meet the needs of local residents,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. “TMC shares Pima County’s commitment to ensuring that those who need care receive it, while also ensuring a robust healthcare workforce.”

Tucson Medical Center likewise looks forward to the collaboration.

“We applaud Pima County’s commitment to create a sustainable hospital and medical community for our Southern Arizona communities,” said Judy Rich, president and chief executive officer, Tucson Medical Center. “This investment will help us continue to address the critical physician shortage and access to care issues facing our community.”

Jasmine Williams, left, Brittany Chadwick, center left, Nicole Robles, center right, and Isabella Conte, far right, smile during the ceremony celebrating the completion of the GO Program! Patient Care and Phlebotomy Internship at Tucson Medical Center on July 12, 2012. Twenty students completed the program, sponsored by TMC, the Pima County Joint Technical Education District, Tucson Youth Development and the Pima County One-Stop Career Center.

Twenty high school graduates in lime green scrubs celebrated the completion of a summer internship program this week that prepared them for jobs as phlebotomist and patient care technicians.

Pima County One-Stop Career Center, Tucson Medical Center, the Pima County Joint Technical Education District (JTED) and Tucson Youth Development began partnering in 2004 to make the program possible and have seen nearly 150 young people complete it, TMC’s chief operating officer, Linda Wojtowicz, told the interns Thursday at a celebration of their achievement.

Of those, 90 percent are still working in health care, said Arnold Palacios, executive director of the nonprofit Tucson Youth Development.

“We’ve already started to graduate registered nurses who were part of this program,” he said.

Wojtowicz thanked TMC’s partners in the program.  “Without this, this hospital would not be able to serve the people we do,” she said.

Intern Ena Knezevic, right, talks with Registered Nurse Audrey Fimbres, left, after the ceremony. Nearly 150 students have completed the program since 2004.

“You have all been exposed to careers you would not have been exposed to otherwise. …  You make a difference in the lives of patients.  They remember your name.  You have an opportunity many people don’t have.”

In the GO! (Great Opportunities) Program, students take JTED courses to become certified nursing assistants before participating in training funded by Pima County One-Stop and paid internships funded by Tucson Youth Development.

Vaughn Croft, chair of the Pima County Workforce Investment Board Youth Council, reminded the interns that 2008 JTED and GO! Program alumnus Daniel Hernandez Jr. is credited with saving the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords when she shot on Jan. 8, 2011, on Tucson’s Northwest Side.

“You never know where theses skills are going to lead you,” he said.

Intern Brianna Chavez receives her certificate during the ceremony.

Beth Francis, TMC’s health careers coordinator, said most of the interns have already been offered jobs at TMC.

Gabriella Savorilla, a 20-year-old patient care technician at TMC, praised the program she went through two years ago.

“We got in for free,” she said.  “We got college credit.”

Savorilla is getting ready to pursue studies to become a registered nurse.

Joy Schaefer, RN, Nursing Services Instructor with Joint Technical Education District, JTED, smiles during the graduation.