WKU News & Events

May 31, 2002

TJ Samson Hospital Creates Scholarship
Program At WKU

Bowling Green, Ky. - Dwayne Moss considers himself a baby boomer - a member of a large, and aging, generation. He is also the chief executive officer of TJ Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow and is concerned about the shortage of workers in healthcare fields and the strain the baby boomers will put on the industry.

"The baby boomers will put a high demand on health care and healthcare providers," Moss said. He said the average age of a registered nurse is 46 and statewide there is a shortage of 400 pharmacists.

"That's why we've entered into a partnership with Western Kentucky University, to address the shortage and to encourage and help students pursue healthcare-related careers," he said.

That partnership is the TJ Samson Community Hospital Scholars Program, made possible through an $80,000 annual gift to WKU. That gift will fund 16 annual scholarships of $5,000 each. In exchange, the recipients agree to work at TJ Samson upon graduation.

"It is our belief that to meet the need for healthcare workers, the industry will have to partner with higher education to encourage students and provide financial support," Moss said. "In exchange for this support, the students will agree to work with us for one to three years, depending upon the amount of financial support they receive."

The program will be administered through the Western Kentucky University Foundation. Recipients will be selected by the University Scholarship Committee with representation from the hospital.

Dr. David Dunn, director of Western's School for Health and Human Services, said the funds provided by T.J. Samson "will enhance our ability to recruit students into the health professions programs and will help Western's School of Health and Human Services meet its goal of graduating high quality health professionals."

Dr. Dunn added that the provision of scholarships to students who will return to work in this area will go a long way in addressing the shortages of healthcare workers in the region.

Established in 1929, TJ Samson is a 196-bed community hospital serving a population of 180,000. With 1,000 employees, it is the second-largest employer in Barren County.

While this is the largest partnership with Western, it is not the first time TJ Samson has supported WKU. The hospital recently gave five hospital beds to the WKU-Glasgow Campus for its nursing program and has been a financial supporter of the Bachelor's Nursing Fund and Western's Public Radio.

"Partnerships such as these enable Western to fulfill its responsibility to the people of our service region," WKU President Gary Ransdell said. "By identifying a need, such as the shortage of healthcare workers, and finding ways to work together to address that need, we are able to improve the quality of life for our region and the state."

For more information, contact Tom Hiles, vice president for Institutional Advancement, at (270) 745-6208, or Dwayne Moss, CEO of TJ Samson Community Hospital, at (270) 651-4444. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.