Northern Kentucky University receives more than $2 million in scholarship funding for healthcare students

Northern Kentucky University has received upwards of $2 million in funding to provide scholarships for its students pursuing certain healthcare degrees thanks to donations from partner healthcare organizations being matched by the state of Kentucky’s new Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund. The Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund helps match scholarship funds for students in certain healthcare programs, providing that the students agree to stay within the state for a year to work in healthcare following their college graduation.

According to an article on Northern Kentucky University’s website, Dr. Gannon Tagher, who serves as the Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at the university, was quoted as saying, “There is a healthcare workforce shortage across the state of Kentucky and the northern Kentucky region is no different. This scholarship money from both our healthcare partners and the state will provide our students the opportunity to progress toward graduation by relieving the financial burden and therefore strengthening the healthcare workforce in northern Kentucky.”

Three partner organizations stepped up to donate to Northern Kentucky University’s healthcare students: St. Elizabeth Healthcare, CHNK Behavioral Health, and OrthoCincy. Together, these partners donated more than $1 million, which was then matched by the Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund.

St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s donation of $1 million will provide junior and senior students studying nursing, radiologic science, and respiratory care with scholarships to help address their financial burdens as they finish up their college education.

Garren Colvin, who is the CEO and President of St. Elizabeth Healthcare, views the donation as an investment. Colvin is quoted as saying, “At St. Elizabeth, we are committed to providing high quality health care to the communities we serve, and our more than 11,000 associates are integral to our ability to do so. In supporting NKU students in health careers, we are investing in our future workforce so that our system can continue to meet our patients' needs for years to come.”

CHNK Behavioral Health’s $50,000 donation is intended to provide scholarship funding for students who are in the Master of Social Work program at Northern Kentucky University and are planning to pursue careers working in mental health, behavioral health, and substance use disorder services. 

The CEO of CHNK Behavioral Health, Rick Wurth, was quoted as saying, “The innovative partnership between Northern Kentucky University, the NKU College of Health and Human Services and Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky/CHNK Behavioral Health is addressing the professional healthcare shortage head on. With some Kentucky counties averaging 4,000 residents to every one mental health care professional, the work that NKU and CHNK are undertaking to increase professionals in the mental health field is vital to education, workforce development, and overall health and wellbeing.”

OrthoCincy gave $10,000 to Northern Kentucky University students who are on the path toward working as radiology technicians, of which Trevor Wilkes, MD, President of OrthoCincy, said, “The importance of the services provided by our radiology technologists are crucial to the diagnosis and care provided to all OrthoCincy patients. So, we are thrilled to work with Northern Kentucky University, specifically the Radiologic Science Program, to directly impact the future of healthcare in our area.”

In addition to students receiving the scholarship funding that will help them finish up their college education at a lesser cost, students will also be guaranteed a one- or two-year position as an employee at the corresponding institution that provided their funding. The benefits of this arrangement will help the state as a whole, the individual employers, and the students as they begin their careers in their chosen fields.

The Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund is administered via the Council on Postsecondary Education. The fund was developed to help combat the regional shortages in specific medical fields by providing financial support to students and a pipeline of qualified workers to populate the open positions at the region’s healthcare facilities.

For more information about Northern Kentucky University, visit the school’s website.