WKU News & Events

Greenview Regional Hospital Makes
Significant Gift To WKU Nursing
Program

April 18, 2003

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University announced today that Greenview Regional Hospital is making a significant financial commitment to the WKU Nursing Program to help meet the increasing need for well-trained nurses in south central Kentucky.

Greenview is pledging $475,000 to train and place nurses in the area. According to Tom Hiles, WKU's vice president for Institutional Advancement, this gift will provide $120,000 for nursing scholarships, $255,000 for unrestricted programmatic funds for nursing, and $100,000 to create the Greenview Regional Hospital Endowed Fund for Excellence in Nursing. The final $100,000 of the gift will be matched with an additional $100,000 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Regional University Excellence Trust Fund.

Dr. David Dunn, dean of Western's College for Health and Human Services, said the scholarship portion of the gift will fund at least 10 two-year scholarships. "We are very excited about this new scholarship program," Dr. Dunn said. "These $6,000 scholarships will be given to those who are within two years of completing the nursing degree program and will be renewable for one additional year. The recipients must agree to return to Greenview Regional Hospital to work for the number of years they receive the scholarship after they complete their degrees."

Dr. Dunn said the annual programmatic support and the endowed fund for excellence will also make a tremendous difference for nursing. "This portion of the gift will be a flexible fund which could meet pressing needs of the program, including professional development opportunities, technological enhancements and equipment needs, research and travel opportunities, and recruitment efforts," he said.

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. WKU President Gary Ransdell said this gift is specifically structured to help meet this concern.

"This is an excellent and innovative example of how a public university can work with private support to meet the needs of our region," Dr. Ransdell said. "These scholarships help students by enabling deserving men and women to pursue careers in nursing. They also assist the community by helping fill a void in the marketplace and keeping our graduates employed in this region. We would like to have our nursing students enter our program with a scholarship in one hand and a job in the other."

Brenda M. Waltz, FACHE, Greenview Regional Hospital's CEO, said Greenview is excited about the scholarship program and new relationship with WKU. "Through this contribution, Greenview is making a commitment to Western's Nursing Program and to our community's workforce," Waltz said. "We are excited about the opportunity to work with Western through this scholarship program and look forward to a longstanding relationship with Western."

Hiles said WKU is very appreciative of Greenview's support. "This gift will not only support and strengthen our outstanding Nursing Program, it will also provide a great lift to our 'Investing in the Spirit Campaign' as we edge closer to our $90 million goal."

Greenview Regional Hospital is a 211-bed acute care facility serving south central Kentucky since 1972 and is part of the TriStar Family of Hospitals.

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