Greater Cincinnati posted nearly 50,000 healthcare job openings last year. Six positions sit unfilled for every healthcare graduate the region produces. Chamberlain University and parent company Covista believe the fix starts long before anyone applies to nursing school.
The two committed $150,000 over three years to a partnership with The Health Collaborative that will place year-long healthcare career exploration programs inside local youth centers, giving Cincinnati-area middle and high school students hands-on experience with healthcare careers, according to a BusinessWire announcement tied to Chamberlain's Thursday, Aug. 20 campus ribbon cutting in Cincinnati.
"When students can meet real healthcare professionals and get hands-on experience early, it changes what they believe is possible for themselves, and it's exactly the kind of early exposure that helps build the nursing workforce our region needs," Deirdre Beluan, CEO of The Health Collaborative, said at the event.
Two decades of pipeline work
The Health Collaborative's Workforce Advisory Council has convened the region's health systems and education partners since 2003 to build a more inclusive talent pipeline.
Existing student programs include HealthFORCE, a free annual career expo connecting high schoolers with healthcare employers, and the TAP Health Summer Academy. The new Chamberlain-funded programs add a year-long component housed in youth centers, reaching students as young as middle school. A standing workgroup called the Regional Career Exploration Coalition coordinates these efforts for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Health Collaborative was also a critical partner in Cincinnati State Technical and Community College securing a $1.5 million Hamilton County grant that allowed the college to serve up to 100 more nursing students per year.
Chamberlain opens 25th campus
The partnership announcement came the same day Chamberlain, the nation's largest school of nursing, opened its 25th campus nationwide. The campus features a SIMCARE CENTER for simulated clinical practice and offers a three-year path to a BSN with no application fee and no prerequisite courses.
Chamberlain President Amelia Manning said the expansion addresses an access gap. Executive campus director Priya Shastri said the school intends to complement existing local programs rather than compete with them.
Chamberlain also awarded its inaugural Future Healthcare Hero BSN Scholarship, covering full tuition, to Cincinnati resident Damenika Jacobs. Three additional full-tuition scholarships were announced, with applications open to Cincinnati-area residents.
Tiffany Mattingly, chief engagement officer and vice president of clinical strategies at The Health Collaborative, joined the ribbon cutting. Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus declared Thursday, Aug. 20 "Chamberlain University Day." No specific launch date or list of participating youth centers for the new career exploration programs has been announced.
