 . |
Medical Center Establishes  John C. Desmarais, President and Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Health Corporation, the parent company of The Medical Center, sees the scholarship as a partnership with WKU to meet the current and future healthcare needs of residents in Southcentral Kentucky. "By partnering with Western, we are encouraging men and women to enter into the nursing profession," he said. "It is a proactive measure to meet the shortage of available nurses today and in the future." According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be a deficit of more than 1 million nurses nationally by the year 2010 due to an aging population and technological advances. The scholarships will be funded through annual payments of $250,000 for five years. Western will award a minimum of 17 scholarships annually to nursing students who agree to be employed at The Medical Center or other Commonwealth Health Corporation healthcare entities. "This is another excellent and innovative example of how a public university can work with private support to meet the needs of our region," WKU President Gary Ransdell said. "These scholarships help students by enabling deserving men and women to pursue careers in nursing," Dr. Ransdell added. "They also assist the community by helping fill a void in the marketplace and keeping our graduates employed in this region." Connie Smith, Chief Executive Officer of The Medical Center, said she began her healthcare career as a nurse and knows what a rewarding profession it is. "These scholarships will provide an incentive for women and men to look closely at a career which will touch so many lives," she said. The investment by The Medical Center would be eligible for an additional $500,000 match from the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Regional University Excellence Trust Fund if that fund is financed by the General Assembly. Tom Hiles, WKU's Vice President for Institutional Advancement, said he was especially grateful because the partnership put Western's "Investing in the Spirit Campaign" over its original $78 million goal earlier this summer. "The generosity of Commonwealth Health Corporation and the timing of their investment made it possible for us to announce in May that we had reached our original goal and had extended our goal to $90 million," Hiles said. The Medical Center scholarship fund will be administered through the Western Kentucky University Foundation. The University Scholarship Committee will select recipients with representation from The Medical Center. For more information, contact Tom Hiles, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, at (270) 745-6208 or Doris Thomas, Vice President at Commonwealth Health Corporation, at (270) 745-1589. 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.
|
 |
. |
|
Keep up to date with WKU News, Sports, and Special Events via e-mail with "At-Western." >WKU In The News WKU Traditions |