CULLOWHEE – In the midst of ongoing staffing challenges across the healthcare industry, the innovative partnership between Western Carolina University (WCU) and the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA) is doing exactly what a great pipeline should do – it matches local talent with meaningful careers close to home, expands continuing education opportunities, and opens career-ladder pathways for enrolled members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians (EBCI).
It’s working, as this collaboration has brought several new employees to CIHA and helped current team members keep advancing their skills.
At the heart of the partnership is a shared vision. WCU prepares students with rigorous coursework and hands-on learning as part of their founding mission of “Inspiring learning through innovative teaching, nationally recognized programs, exceptional support, and a robust connectedness with surrounding communities in Southern Appalachia, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.”
Robert “Noland” Brown and Kathryn Moore (WCU photo)
CIHA provides a real-world environment rooted in integrated, culturally informed care – nowhere more evident than at Analenisgi, CIHA’s behavioral health program. Students arrive as interns and trainees, then often return as colleagues, already aligned with CIHA’s mission and the needs of our community.
Two recent examples tell the story well.
Robert “Noland” Brown, an enrolled member of the EBCI, trained at Analenisgi during graduate school and has now returned as a master-level therapist. He applied to intern at CIHA, he says, because “During grad school, I pursued the Addictions Certificate Program, as well as studying the integrated healthcare model. Which both my academic supervisor and I agreed, Analenisgi is quintessential of the integrated care model. Additionally, I am member of the community and felt a call to serve the community that I love.”
That commitment deepened during his internship, which he credits for allowing him to gain a new perspective on caring for his community. “I better learned to meet people where they are. In the social work field, we talk a lot about differing evidence-based interventions/practices, but at Analenisgi, I learned the importance of connection, patience, and care.”
Mentorship mattered, too. “There are many, but one supervisor in particular that both inspired me as a practitioner, but also as a human being is Michelle Frerich. Michelle is a one-of-a-kind person, and in turn a one-of-a-kind mentor to have,” said Brown.
Now, as a full-time CIHA teammate working as a Masters Level Therapist at Analenisgi, Brown says, “I feel excited to rejoin the family that I built here during my internship. As well as recommit myself to serving my community to the best of my ability.” For Brown, the work is personal and a family legacy he wants to carry on. “When I was younger, my grandmother was a nurse at the old Cherokee Hospital, and I beam with pride at the fact that I have followed her steps in a way, and have become someone that can help others,” he said. “Additionally, this is a community that I love and care for, and I hope to become the best version of myself, so that I can best provide intentional and focused care.”
His goals are not fleeting, but rather a promise he plans to keep for his community. “I hope to be someone that others can rely on. I want to have a strong connection with the people I provide service to, and above all else I hope to grow as a person,” he said.
Kathryn Moore’s path mirrors that same arc. Drawn by the chance to match classroom learning with real clinical impact, she chose CIHA for her internship because, “it offered an incredible opportunity for both professional growth and community impact. I was drawn to the chance to turn theoretical knowledge into real-world clinical practice, to be part of a close-knit team that feels like family, and to contribute to the mission of guiding individuals toward healing and new beginnings—one step at a time,” she said.
For Moore, the internship confirmed a calling that even she was unaware of until it became too strong to ignore. “One of the most valuable lessons I learned is that it’s rare—and truly special—to find a career that aligns so closely with your calling and passion that it doesn’t feel like ‘just a job.’ Serving the community is not only meaningful but a privilege I don’t take for granted,” she said.
Like they did for Brown, the mentorship Moore received during her internship not only proved pivotal, but was the affirming voice she needed. “Rebekah Tucker was an incredible mentor and supervisor throughout my internship,” Moore said. “Clinical work was completely new to me at the time, but Rebekah, along with the entire Analenisgi Child Team, welcomed me with open arms and showed me the ropes. Their guidance helped me fall in love with clinical work and ultimately led me to pursue a career in behavioral health.”
Now a Master-Level Therapist with CIHA, Moore says, “What excites me most is the genuine connection I’ve built with the team—they truly feel like family. I’m also excited to continue engaging with the community and expanding my professional network to drive meaningful change.” Serving the same community where she trained “feels incredibly rewarding,” and working at Analenisgi “means the world to me. Personally, I’ve always wanted to be part of a workplace that treats its staff and community members with humility, dignity, and respect. CIHA and the Analenisgi Child Team embodies this every day. Professionally, this role is a dream come true. I’ve always felt called to help others, and becoming a therapist allows me to live out that purpose daily. Analenisgi is truly the perfect fit for me—both personally and professionally.”
WCU’s mission statement endeavors that “Through a broad range of scholarly activities, our faculty and students seek to better understand our region, state, nation, and world.” Moore’s goals reflect that as part of the partnership’s growth mindset: “My goals include continuing to build strong connections within the community, pursuing further education and training in various treatment modalities, and ultimately obtaining my full LCSW license. I’m committed to growing both as a clinician and as a community advocate.”
These journeys—student to intern to colleague—show how a well-designed pipeline strengthens care close to home. WCU equips students with the academic foundation and specialized tracks (such as addiction studies and integrated care). CIHA offers immersive training in team-based, integrated, culturally anchored practice. Together, they create a loop that keeps talent in the region, elevates standards of care, and supports EBCI members with clear steps upward—through internships, supervision, licensure preparation, and ongoing professional development. Critically, by filling high-demand roles locally, reducing recruitment and relocation costs, and keeping salaries and spending in the Qualla Boundary and surrounding counties, this pipeline also drives regional growth—an opportunity proven effective and one that delivers on WCU’s mission, which “aims to improve the lives and promote economic prosperity throughout western North Carolina and beyond.”
The benefits extend beyond hiring. This partnership supports continuing education for current CIHA staff—expanding access to advanced certificates, workshops, and emerging treatment modalities – and it builds career ladders that make it easier for enrolled EBCI members to grow from entry-level roles into licensed professionals. That means more providers who understand Cherokee culture, history, and community dynamics serving patients here at home.
Most importantly, it cultivates something you can’t teach in a textbook: a sense of belonging and purpose. As Brown put it, “I feel excited to rejoin the family that I built here during my internship.”
As Moore noted, “Serving the community is not only meaningful but a privilege.” When students become colleagues in the very place they trained, the result is continuity of relationships, trust, and care.
That is the promise of the WCU–CIHA partnership. To develop the next generation of caregivers for Cherokee, by Cherokee, in Cherokee. And with each new intern, supervisor, and graduate who chooses to stay and serve, that promise becomes daily practice.
- Western Carolina University release
