Who We Are

The Higher Education Allied Health Leaders (HEAL) Coalition was founded to promote the interests of private schools of allied health.  Members include eligible institutions of higher education, along with companies, organizations, and associations interested in allied health and higher education issues.  The Coalition works to educate Members of Congress of the value of private allied health schools, and to advocate parity between the proprietary and traditional sectors when promoting the allied health professions.

What We Believe

Members of the HEAL Coalition recognize the growing shortages within the health care industry.  When the Baby Boom generation begins to retire, many more Americans will need health care – but an aging population of nurses and health support providers will leave fewer workers to provide needed care.

The Coalition believes that proprietary institutions of allied health can help fill the critical shortage of health care workers which our country faces in the coming years and decades.  In the past few years, traditional nursing schools have turned away qualified applicants, simply because there were too few faculty members to teach them.  We understand that allied health schools must train more workers to meet future demand, and believe that grants and other financial incentives from the federal government can be a valuable tool to encourage students to take on the responsibilities of work in allied health.

Mission Statement

The Higher Education Allied Health Leaders (HEAL) Coalition provides a voice for allied health career schools and their partners by educating key policy-makers on behalf of the thousands of quality professionals our participant schools train, informs the proprietary sector participants of health care issues which could affect their schools and students, and advocates for effective and balanced legislative and regulatory policies that promote the preparation of highly qualified allied health professionals.  We strongly believe that the inclusion of our participants' students in important federal allied health-related programs will help fill a critical shortage of health care workers which our nation faces in the decades to come.

What We Do

The HEAL Coalition works first to educate Members of Congress about the important role which private allied health schools provide.  Many policy-makers are not aware of the hundreds of thousands of quality workers which our schools train every year, and the essential roles which these employees play in hospitals, doctors’ offices, and medical facilities around the country.

Because the schools represented by the Coalition provide tremendous value to our health care sector, the Coalition works to ensure parity between traditional and proprietary institutions of allied health.  The need for qualified workers is such that neither the traditional nor the proprietary sector alone can fully meet the pressing demand.  The Coalition therefore considers it essential that proprietary schools of allied health – and their students – remain eligible for the same grants, scholarships, and other incentives provided to encourage students to join these important professions.

Learn more about the HEAL Coalition’s leadership, and its Executive Director, Tom Netting.

Charter Members:

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