A program that helps veterans achieve nursing degrees has expanded to include students at Drexel and West Chester universities.
The Independence Blue Cross Foundation's Service Scholars program now includes seven schools in the Philadelphia region. Collectively, the foundation this week awarded them nearly $1.8 million in new grants to help them fund nursing education scholarships and programs like Service Scholars.
The Service Scholars program was created in 2023 to help reduce the national nursing shortage and help veterans transition to civilian life. The program offers scholarships that supplement the tuition assistance veterans receive from the federal Yellow Ribbon Program, which matches tuition assistance that schools give to veterans who have served since 9/11. But that program does not always cover the veterans' full tuition costs. The scholarships offered through the Service Scholars program make up the difference, allowing them to attend for free.
The students also receive support for career development and mentoring. As of November, the program was supporting 18 veteran students at five participating schools – the Community College of Philadelphia, Gwynedd Mercy University, Montgomery County Community College, Thomas Jefferson University and Villanova University.
Now, students at Drexel and West Chester university have the opportunity to join them.
"Nursing is a great choice for veterans," IBX Executive Director Heather Major said in a statement. "By expanding the Service Scholars Program to more nursing schools in Pennsylvania, we are growing a highly skilled talent pool for healthcare employers and matching veterans with high demand, good paying jobs in healthcare."
