Upland Hills Health Supports Southwest Tech Nurses Program

 

Upland Hills Health Hospital and Clinics and Southwest Technical College representatives celebrated a new partnership on October 20 that will support and help expand the Southwest Tech health care career programs. Upland Hills Health pledged $75,000 over the next three years to the nursing program, which will allow for continuous enrollment, retention of students in the program and facilitate students completing the program.

Upland Hills Health joins six area health systems that have also pledged to support the “Need for Nurses” campaign. With each pledge, the hospitals have a designated lab area in the Health Seience Center. As part of the agreement, the hospitals sponsor a student or two each year who will work with them while going to school, have enhanced clinical affiliation and will have the opportunity for employment with their sponsor upon graduation. This year, the Upland Hills Health scholarship recipients are Liana Mericka and Adelei Graffin.

Mericka volunteers at Community Connections, the free clinic in Dodgeville. She plans to continue to volunteer at the free clinic over the next several years as she attends nursing school. She said volunteering is a way to “aid underserved populations and stay familiar with community resources in my area.”

Restarting her career now that her twins are older, Graffin says caring for others fulfills her life’s purpose. In her essay, Graffin said, “I believe that when we lift others in this life, we lift ourselves up, too.”

“We believe in finding local solutions to workforce issues,” according to UHH President and CEO Lisa Schnedler. “It is a bonus when we can hire nurses who are local to the area, have been educated in our community and who will live here when they complete their education. Southwest Tech provides excellent training and we wanted to support their innovative approach by helping students successfully complete the program.”

Cynde Larsen, PhD, chief academic officer and executive dean of health services at Southwest Tech, thanked Upland Hills Health for sponsoring the Need for Nurses project.

“Upland Hills Health’s support increases the number of students in the nursing program and it allows us to increase the frequency of course offerings so students can stay on track with their studies and have opportunities to graduate in either May or December,” according to Dr. Larsen. “UHH’s participation changes the lives of students and their families, helping them to become tomorrow’s health care professionals.”

For information on the Southwest Technical College Nursing Program, visit: https://www.swtc.edu