Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare has committed a $750,000 donation to the University of Texas at El Paso for students interested in healthcare careers as part of its goal to support historically Black colleges and universities as well as Hispanic-serving institutions.
The partnership also offers internship opportunities for students at HCA hospitals and its corporate headquarters in Tennessee, as well as creating a nursing fellowship and a graduate degree to advance healthcare administration. HCA plans to award 60 scholarships to UTEP students over the next four years. UTEP is one of the largest Hispanic-serving institutions in the U.S., with an 84 percent Hispanic student body.
"We are excited to announce this partnership with UTEP to support the development of their graduate programs," Sherri Neal, chief diversity officer of HCA Healthcare, said in a July 21 press release. "As the third in our series of commitments to HBCUs and HSIs, this demonstrates our continued efforts to develop a diverse pipeline of healthcare professionals and future leaders."
HCA also recently donated $1.5 million to Florida International University's Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Miami to add more faculty and offer scholarships to nursing students to aid in solving the current nursing shortage.
Since 2021, HCA has donated $3.75 million to HBCUs and HSIs. The system's ultimate goal is to donate $10 million over three years.