Valentine’s Day got a little bit sweeter for students studying health at Pima Community College.
The community college and Arizona Complete Health announced a “transformative” $500,000 partnership Wednesday to support the PCC Center of Excellence in Health Professions.
Of that, $400,000 will go towards an endowed scholarship fund and $100,000 will create a program development grant to benefit the center.
The PCC Center for Excellence in Health Professions provides “high-tech training and reskilling for both new students and incumbent workers to help prepare future healthcare professionals for successful careers and creates a pipeline of well-trained healthcare professionals in southern Arizona.”
The funding “will play a crucial role” in the center’s mission to prepare future health-care workers from diverse backgrounds, PCC said in a news release.
The partnership between the center and Arizona Complete Health, an organization that provides and administers health benefits through individual, Medicaid, Medicare and dual eligible programs, will be managed by the Pima Foundation.
“We are enormously grateful to Arizona Complete Health for their investment. Funding the development of critical programs serving the labor needs in health care will be a game-changer for the industry,” said Marcy Euler, president and CEO of the foundation. “The scholarship portion of the gift is tremendous. Student learners will benefit for years to come from the generosity and vision of this gift.”
The $400,000 endowed scholarship will provide need-based scholarships for students studying for any degree or certificate program within the PCC center. Some of the money will be available for scholarship use immediately.
In-state students who are enrolled in any health profession program at PCC, take a minimum of six credits, maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 and can demonstrate financial need are eligible for the scholarship. The awards are $1,000 and can be renewed for up to three semesters as long as the student remains academically eligible.
The $100,000 program development grant will “support the development of innovative programming” at the PCC Center of Excellence in Health Professions. There will be a specific focus on long-term-care workforce training and behavioral health-care coordination.
The funds, according to the news release, “will be instrumental in creating cutting-edge programming focusing on care coordination within a behavioral health setting and long-term care workforce training.”
PCC will “actively integrate” the new programs into its current curriculum.
“Arizona Complete Health is proud to support the important work of the Center of Excellence in Health Professions at Pima Community College and contribute to the growth of the inclusive health-care education and training opportunities it provides,” said Martha Smith, plan president and CEO of Arizona Compete Health. “As we think about the future of health care here in the Tucson and Pima County community, it is crucial to have a vibrant and skilled workforce that is equipped to meet the evolving needs of the industry, such as long-term care and behavioral health-care coordination.”
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