Bellarmine University receives $1 million for DNP-Nurse Anesthesia scholarships following matching grant award from state
The school received $500,000 from Anesthesia Services of Kentucky and that was matched with $500,000 from the new Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund, which is administered by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.
Bellarmine University has received a total of $1 million to put toward student scholarships for individuals in its DNP-Nurse Anesthesia program following a grant award from Anesthesia Services of Kentucky and a matching amount from the state of Kentucky’s new Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund.
According to an article on Bellarmine University’s website, Susan M. Donovan, the president of Bellarmine University, was quoted as saying of the funding, “We are grateful to the Kentucky legislature for creating this opportunity to increase funding for scholarships to students majoring in crucial healthcare disciplines. We are also grateful to Dr. Juneja for his continued generosity and support of our nurse anesthesia students. We are committed to forming partnerships that benefit not only our students but also our larger community, and this is a wonderful example of that.”
Dr. Mushtaque Juneja, a Bellarmine University alumni, is the CEO of Anesthesia Services of Kentucky and is the namesake of the university’s Juneja Nurse Anesthesia Program. Dr. Juneja currently practices in both Norton Hospital and Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and noted that the nation is facing a shortage of anesthesiologists, which is itself a big opportunity for Bellarmine University and its Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia degree program.
The program was initially accredited in 2023 and is facing such high student interest that during its second cohort, the upper limit of students it could accept was raised from 18 to 20. Nearly 300 students expressed their interest in attending the program.
The $500,000 donation from Anesthesia Services of Kentucky and the $500,000 match from the Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund will help provide scholarships for these students who are studying to become nurse anesthetists, who are needed in almost every sector of healthcare.
The Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund was implemented by House Bill 200 and is administered by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. The program matches scholarship funding that comes from private donors for the purpose of scholarships for students in healthcare programs. In order to benefit from these scholarships, students must commit to working in Kentucky for at least one year after graduation.
For more information about Bellarmine University, visit the school’s website.