Ivy Tech Community College and Good Samaritan partner with $300,000 investment
Good Samaritan is investing $300,000 into the healthcare programs at Ivy Tech Community College’s Evansville and Terra Haute campuses to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation rates.
Ivy Tech Community College in Evansville and Terra Haute has entered into a multi level partnership with Good Samaritan according to an announcement. A major part of the partnership is a $300,000 investment into offering opportunities for Knox County residents to earn jobs in healthcare, building awareness of the healthcare programs both Ivy Tech campuses offer, and expanding the healthcare workforce pipeline in the community.
In an article posted on Ivy Tech Community College’s website, Good Samaritan’s Chief Nursing Officer, Rachel Spalding, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, was quoted on the partnership, saying, “I am thrilled to witness the powerful collaboration between Good Samaritan and Ivy Tech’s healthcare programs. This impactful gift signifies a shared commitment to addressing the pressing workforce needs in healthcare. By joining forces, we are fostering a supportive relationship that will continue to allow Good Samaritan to carry out its mission.”
Good Samaritan has been operating in the healthcare field in southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana for over 115 years. The company is based in Vincennes and serves four counties in Illinois and six counties in Indiana. The hospital’s partnership with Ivy Tech Community College presents the ability for facility enhancements, heightening the awareness of available education and career pathways as well as supporting initiatives that help current healthcare students in their studies. The two organizations will work together using these strategies to help combat the healthcare labor shortage in the region.
Emsi/Burning Glass data on the labor market suggests that the current education system presents a deficit of 1,350 nursing graduates when it comes to Indiana’s labor needs. Across the state, Ivy Tech Community College awards over 1,300 associate nursing degrees to students every year, which is more than any other school not only in Indiana, but also in the country.
Ivy Tech Terra Haute Chancellor Lea Anne Crooks, Ph.D. weighed in on the school’s commitment to the community and the partnership with Good Samaritan, saying, “Ivy Tech is the community’s workforce driver. If there is a gap in skilled workers, Ivy Tech will help fill it to ensure industries, like healthcare, are continuing to grow, new industries are attracted to our state, and our communities are thriving. This gift is the epitome of community partnerships.”
The gift of $300,000 will help fund the School of Health Sciences and the School of Nursing in a holistic way, as the funds will be divided between focuses on student recruitment, retention, and completion in three different ways.
The first avenue is through renovations within the School of Health Sciences both at the Evansville campus as well as the campus at Terra Haute. The updates to the facilities will allow Ivy Tech to see through its commitment to providing its students with environments that simulate patient care in a real world way such that they will see in the workforce after graduation. This provides students with a seamless transition from student work to professional work. The renovations will also improve students’ expectations for what their healthcare career possibilities will be like after graduation.
The second prong of the partnership is to develop a more effective healthcare workforce pipeline. Ivy Tech will work to create more opportunities for students to earn a healthcare certificate such as an emergency medical technician certificate or a certified nursing assistant even before graduating high school.
Leah Allman, who serves as the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Services at Ivy Tech Terra Haute, talked about the importance of working with high school students, saying, “Working with high school students is essential, and will empower future nurses and other healthcare professionals with invaluable resources and support early on. Plus, it saves students and families thousands of dollars in tuition costs.”
The third avenue of the partnership is to work toward more retention in the School of Nursing while also expanding the program. Ivy Tech’s program prides itself of being high quality and rigorous, and because of this is looking to ensure that students will be able to keep up with their classwork. Both campuses involved in the partnership with Good Samaritan will be able to increase their enrollment capacity in their Schools of Nursing by creating more instruction space, adding additional lab equipment, and hiring more instructors.
Ivy Tech Evansville’s Chancellor Daniela Vidal talked about the benefits of the partnership to both organizations, saying, “A focused effort to attract individuals in Knox County, and in the region, to pursue an education and career in healthcare through Ivy Tech will directly impact Good Samaritan’s ability to increase the high level of care they already provide to the area. More than 90% of Ivy Tech graduates stay in Indiana for their careers, and nearly 85% stay in their region.”
Good Samaritan has stated that it desires for this partnership with Ivy Tech to result in more of the school’s graduates becoming Good Samaritan employees.
Spalding expanded on this idea, saying, “We know Ivy Tech produces high-quality healthcare workers, as we have seen with a number of exceptional team members who are Ivy Tech alumni. Our faith in Ivy Tech to be a leader in this area has only increased, and we are proud to come alongside them to shape the future of healthcare by investing in the development of a skilled and compassionate healthcare workforce."
Across the state, Ivy Tech is finishing up a $285 million comprehensive campaign this summer, and partnerships like this one with Good Samaritan as well as other gifts are helping to make the campaign succeed. More information about the Ivy Tech Campaign can be found on the school's Giving page.
Ivy Tech Community College offers 10 healthcare programs at both the Terra Haute and Evansville campuses from nursing to respiratory therapy and surgical technology to therapeutic massage. Classes start in January, March, June, August, and October.
More information about the healthcare programs at Ivy Tech can be found here, and more information about everything offered at Ivy Tech Community College can be found at the school’s website.