St. Luke's collaborates with Sam Houston State University for nursing scholarship program

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- A new nursing scholarship program will allow students to realize their dreams while helping address an impending nursing shortage, thanks to a collaboration between St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital (SLWH) and Sam Houston State University (SHSU).

Beginning this fall, SHSU will award St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital Nursing Scholarships to SHSU nursing students, with preference to those who are employees or children of SLWH employees. The university will select recipients through a competitive process based on GPA and other measures of academic success.

The scholarship program was made possible through a generous donation from Pam and Gary Whitlock, longtime supporters of the hospital and the university according to Peg Reiter, RN, PhD, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, SLWH. Mr. Whitlock serves on SLWH’s Board of Directors.

More than half of all SHSU students receive some form of financial aid. The nursing scholarship will defray some of the education costs for qualifying students working toward their BSN degree and help those who might otherwise be unable to earn their degree. This also will enable SHSU to attract the best and brightest for its new nursing program, and help SLWH recruit from a larger pool of talented candidates. Ultimately, the scholarships benefit the patients who will receive high-quality nursing care — the gold standard for both SLWH and SHSU.

“A number of studies predict a growing shortage of nurses,” Reiter said. “The population is aging, the need for healthcare is increasing and the demand for nursing is high.”