Coordinated Care, a Washington state provider of low-cost and free health insurance, has committed $25,000 to the Centralia College Foundation to provide scholarships and emergency grants to Centralia College students in health care programs, the college announced Monday.
Half of the funds will be awarded in spring through the foundation’s normal scholarship process and will be used to cover students’ tuition and fees, according to a Centralia College news release.
Students working toward a two-year degree, a certificate or a bachelor’s degree in behavioral health care are eligible for that first half of the funds.
The other half of the funds will be awarded to students facing one-time financial hardships that threaten their ability to continue their education. These funds will be awarded through the college’s existing emergency grant process, according to Centralia College.
“With the additional help for emergencies, we can really make sure someone’s life isn’t taken off track because of a one-time car repair, medical bill or even a dead laptop,” said Christine Fossett, executive director of the Centralia College Foundation. “Being able to cover those expenses and keep students in college is a relatively easy way to affect the long-term availability of local health care workers.”
Coordinated Care awarded funds to 10 colleges across the state through its Community Scholarships program. The intent is to remove barriers and support students pursuing careers in health care, according to a news release.
"We continue building our community scholarship initiative to support Washingtonians pursuing careers in healthcare and in turn meet the needs of our communities," said Beth Johnson, president and CEO at Coordinated Care. "This year we focused on supporting behavioral health programs, as we recognized the demand in our local communities. Treating the whole person is critical to Coordinated Care's mission, and we know systemic solutions lie in strong partnerships."
Centralia College’s health care programs train students to work as nurses, nursing assistants, mental health counselors, paramedics, substance use disorder professionals and medical assistants, and allow students to complete coursework to transfer to four-year colleges for further training to become doctors, physical therapists, and more, according to the release. Of the college’s programs, Nursing has the second highest enrollment.
For more information on Centralia College’s health care training programs, visit www.centralia.edu. For more information on Coordinated Care’s programs, visit www.coordinatedcarehealth.com.
