BUFFALO, N.Y. — To help encourage local students interested in going into nursing, SUNY Erie and Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) have entered a partnership to support students and future nurses. The program aims to provide education and financial support in addition to guaranteed employment when students graduate.
The agreement created an Erie County Medical Center Scholars program for up to 50 students per year. Students will get a "last-in" scholarship and up to $1,500 per year in scholarships.
Students in the program will also be given access to clinical seats through their training as well as being able to take a free board exam preparation course and application fee reimbursement. These program students will also be given competitive salaries for the market, according to SUNY Erie.
Admission to the program is dependent on a good GPA and Health Education System Inc. (HESI) entrance exam score.
“I want to thank Dr. Balkin for bringing this opportunity to us,” said ECMC President & CEO Thomas J. Quatroche, Jr. “Students will be incentivized to enter nursing and eventually work for ECMC, while being provided direct and customized training. As a result, they will be a very prepared cohort of graduates with a high-level of training at our region’s only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, and the incentives should ensure we’re getting highly motivated and capable candidates.”
Additionally, current nursing students and previous nursing students who did not complete their degree but come back and finish are eligible for loan forgiveness when they commit to working three to five years at ECMC.
“SUNY Erie is thrilled to work with ECMC, a regional health services leader, to further enable our remarkable nursing students' track records of success,” SUNY Erie President David Balkin said.
“This partnership will help alleviate many of the most severe labor shortages in our community, placing SUNY Erie at the forefront of healthcare training leadership and community development.”
More information about the nursing program at SUNY Erie and the other resources they have available is on the SUNY Erie nursing webpage.
