Union Health makes first donation to SMWC

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Monday announced a three-year, $250,000 gift from Terre Haute-based Union Health. The funding will support the college’s expansion of its online program designed to give paramedics a pathway to becoming registered nurses.

The health system presented the first $100,000 of the funding to the college during a news conference Monday.

SMWC began the Paramedic to BSN program in January and says the funding will allow a second cohort to begin in August. The grant will also allow the college to add more faculty members.

“Union Health has been a great clinical placement for our students since the start of our undergraduate nursing program,” Marcia Miller, dean of the division of nursing and sciences at SMWC said in a news release. “We see this innovative online BSN offering as a way to meet the career goals of paramedics and provide more professional nurses, as well as provide these students with a path to an advanced practice graduate degree.”

In recognition of the grant, SMWC will rename the nursing skills lab at Hulman Hall as the Union Health Nursing Skills Lab.

“Union has been a great partner with us since our program’s inception,” Provost Janet Clark said. “Their continued support allows us to expand and provide new opportunities such as the PM-BSN, which puts more healthcare professionals into the workforce.”

You can learn more about the Paramedic to BSN program by clicking here.