PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than 50 Philly-area veterans will receive support and scholarships as they pursue careers in nursing, thanks to the Independence Blue Cross Foundation’s Service Scholars Program.
The initiative launched on Wednesday, Nov. 8, with an announcement press conference in the lobby of the Independence Blue Cross building at 19th and Market streets.
In addition to providing $350,000 of scholarship support to the veterans attending nursing schools in and around Philadelphia, they will also get mentorship opportunities.
For Heather Major, executive director of the IBX Foundation, targeting veterans with nursing education opportunities fell in line with their draw to continued service after being in the armed forces.
“Service to country doesn’t go away after service to country, and certainly a career in nursing could absolutely provide that value, live that value of service to community,” she said.
But the pathway for many veterans to find those educational opportunities can often be a rough journey. Major emphasized that it wasn’t a “one-size-fits-all” process.
“For so many people it’s a financial issue, whether that be on the academic tuition side or the other fees that are associated with going to school. Particularly in nursing, you have to pay for uniforms, and there’s a lot of testing fees,” she said.
Outside of the financial requirements to attend nursing school, Major also said traditional four-year universities don’t often accept credits earned by veterans in military school, let alone allow their military experiences to count as credits towards new degrees.
“Some of these folks that come in from the military and want to pursue a degree in nursing were finding themselves starting at day one when maybe they could’ve been starting in year two or year three,” she said.
The Service Scholars Program also arrives as the nation is expected to face a nursing shortage over the next decade, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
As more veterans make the transition into nursing through the program, it could soften the blow in Pennsylvania. With Major’s ambitions, it could also have a nationwide impact.
“We feel it’s replicable, and if it is replicated, imagine the impact that can have across the nation,” she said.
The first cohort of veteran participants will be announced at the beginning of next year. The program is set to begin in the fall of 2024.