Health system to expand local partnership to help combat nationwide nursing shortages

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA), one of the nation’s leading healthcare providers, today announced that it will give $1.5 million to Fisk University to support scholarships for students pursuing a degree in nursing. This gift is part of the organization’s larger commitment to give $10 million over three years to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). HCA Healthcare has now announced approximately $6.75 million to multiple colleges and universities towards that commitment.

“We are proud to partner with Fisk University as we work to build a diverse pipeline of healthcare professionals,” said Sam Hazen, chief executive officer for HCA Healthcare. “It is our hope that this latest investment provides more students with the opportunity to find fulfilling careers in nursing.”

This gift will provide scholarships over four years for Fisk health science and nursing students interested in pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at Galen College of Nursing. In 2021, Galen College of Nursing, a subsidiary of HCA Healthcare, announced an agreement to create a new pathway in nursing for Fisk students. The agreement allows for Fisk degree coursework credits to transfer to Galen College of Nursing so that students may go directly into Galen’s BSN program, allowing them to complete the program in as little as two years. This new investment from HCA Healthcare is designed to help support students in the nursing pathway by providing hands-on shadowing opportunities, mentors, seminars, leadership sessions and career guidance to scholars. The gift will also help support the implementation of the program by funding additional faculty support at Fisk.

“We are excited to announce our expanded partnership with Fisk University to support more students pursuing nursing careers,” said Sherri Neal, chief diversity officer of HCA Healthcare. “The commitment to advancing diversity in healthcare is a top priority for HCA Healthcare, and we are proud to work closely with Fisk University to help develop the next generation of nurses.”

In 2019, HCA Healthcare partnered with Fisk to create the HCA Healthcare Scholars at Fisk University program to provide scholarships, career planning support and internship opportunities for high-achieving undergraduates. Through the program, HCA Healthcare committed $1 million in scholarship funding to support students studying in a variety of academic areas, including business, computer science, biology and psychology. To date, HCA Healthcare has supported many Fisk University students through the program, including a few who are current HCA Healthcare colleagues.

“This partnership between Fisk University and HCA Healthcare marks the latest stage in our long-term relationship around students pursuing exciting careers in the healthcare industry,” said Frank Sims, acting president of Fisk University. “HCA Healthcare remains Fisk’s largest Nashville partner, and many students are eager to begin their professional lives right here in Nashville.”

HCA Healthcare has a history of strategically partnering with organizations to build a diverse healthcare workforce. Earlier this month, HCA Healthcare gave $1.5 million to Tennessee State University to create scholarship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate school students pursuing careers in healthcare and computer science. The company also recently gave $750,000 to The University of Texas at El Paso to create multiple graduate-degree opportunities for students interested in healthcare careers. $1.5 million was given to Florida International University’s (FIU) Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences (NWCNHS) to expand its faculty, offer scholarships to increase enrollment and help address the national nursing shortage. In 2021, HCA Healthcare announced a $1.5 million investment in Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) School of Allied Health Sciences to strengthen students’ pathways from undergraduate to graduate to management careers in the healthcare industry. These partnerships and others with industry- and school-based associations, are part of HCA Healthcare’s continued efforts to strengthen the diversity of the organization’s talent pipeline.

About HCA Healthcare

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services comprising 182 hospitals and approximately 2,300 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare created a new model for hospital care in the United States, using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine. HCA Healthcare has conducted a number of clinical studies, including one that demonstrated that full-term delivery is healthier than early elective delivery of babies and another that identified a clinical protocol that can reduce bloodstream infections in ICU patients by 44%. HCA Healthcare is a learning health system that uses its more than 35 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and save lives. Please click here to connect with HCA Healthcare on social media.

About Fisk University

Fisk University is a highly-ranked historically Black university, according to U.S. News and World Report, and is the oldest institution of higher learning in Nashville, Tennessee. Fisk’s outstanding faculty and students continue to enhance the University’s international reputation for academic excellence. Fisk’s scholars continue to make strides in all areas of the industry from Social Justice to the sciences. A Fisk education prepares students to become beacons in servicing the community and well-rounded leaders and scholars in their respective fields. Fisk offers more than 20+ undergraduate and graduate programs in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Clinical Psychology with a bridge Masters to Ph.D. program through a partnership with Vanderbilt University. For more information, visit Fisk.edu.

All references to “Company,” “HCA” and “HCA Healthcare” as used throughout this document refer to HCA Healthcare, Inc. and its affiliates.

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