Penn Highlands Healthcare Partners with CPI to Support Nursing Program

A Pennsylvania health care provider is partnering with a Centre County vocational school to bolster the region’s nursing programs.

Penn Highlands Healthcare announced last week a new initiative that will support up-and-coming nursing students at Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI). Through the newly forged partnership, Penn Highlands will provide tuition, clinical rotations and employment agreements for students entering CPI’s licensed practical nursing program.

According to the agreement, Penn Highlands will provide up to $20,000 in “educational funding” for students attending the Pleasant Gap-based school’s one-year program. In exchange, enrolled nursing students will sign an employment package for a Penn Highlands job that includes a full-time benefits package, according to a press release.

Upon completing the program, CPI nursing graduates will work at one of Penn Highlands’ hospitals, outpatient facilities and physician practices across the health care system, which spreads throughout 26 Pennsylvania counties.

CPI officials said in a statement that the new partnership with Penn Highlands will help combat a growing shortage of qualified nurses in the region.

“We are very excited to partner with Penn Highlands Healthcare and their regional network of care facilities,” said Todd Taylor, CPI’s vice president of post-secondary education. “The new Penn Highlands scholarship for CPI nursing students is an example of the out-of-the-box thinking needed to grow the pipeline of students to meet today’s extreme skilled workforce shortage.”

Heather Franci, Penn Highlands’ chief nursing officer, says the new partnership serves as an “outstanding opportunity” for those in Pennsylvania seeking a nursing career.

“CPI has a reputation for effectively preparing students to enter the workforce and their long-term career success,” Franci wrote in a statement. “The students will receive an excellent education from one of the region’s best career schools along with a seamless transition into the workforce, and we will gain highly qualified nurses.”

The new partnership between Penn Highlands and CPI aims to also help cultivate careers for those who aren’t yet pursuing a nursing degree. Those efforts are bolstered by grant funding that could provide up to $10,000 to cover school-related expenses, including transportation, gas, housing and child care, for eligible CPI nursing students.

“This is really a game-changing opportunity for students who want to go to school and start a career as a practical nurse,” Taylor said. “CPI looks forward to working closely with Penn Highlands Healthcare as we grow our campus and expand our health-related degree programs.”

To qualify for Penn Highlands’ new program, students must first enroll in CPI’s licensed practical nurse program. Once accepted, students will review scholarship guidelines alongside human resources workers and, if eligible, complete the application.

For more information on the new nursing program, contact Todd Taylor at [email protected] or call (814) 359-2793 ext. 217.

Formed in 2011, Penn Highlands Healthcare boasts eight hospitals on top of long-term care facilities, home care agencies and more. Today, the health care system employs nearly 7,000 workers across more than 150 locations throughout central and northwestern Pennsylvania.

In May, Penn Highlands broke ground on a new $70 million State College-area hospital and medical office building that is expected to open by the spring of 2024.

Since 1969, the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology has provided vocational programs to the Centre County area. The school’s 32-acre campus off of Interstate 99 offers 26 in-house degree and diploma programs, more than 60 continuing education programs and more than 350 online courses.