UH College of Nursing receives $3.5M from Houston’s largest health care system
SOURCE: Houston Business Journal
AUTHOR: Olivia Pulsinelli
The HCA Houston Healthcare Simulation Center, a new feature at UH’s future Katy campus, will provide hands-on, real-world clinical training and research.
COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
HCA Houston Healthcare, the largest health care system in Houston, is donating $3.5 million to the University of Houston College of Nursing.
According to an April 29 press release, the donation will fund the following:
- $2 million: HCA Houston Healthcare Nursing Faculty Endowment, which aims to increase the number of adjunct or full-time facility members at HCA-affiliated facilities
- $1 million: HCA Houston Healthcare Simulation Center, a new feature at UH’s future Katy campus that will provide hands-on, real-world clinical training and research
- $500,000: HCA Houston Healthcare Endowed Professorship in Undergraduate Studies, which will fund the Bachelor of Science in Nursing director position and expand BSN instruction and research
The UH College of Nursing currently is located at UH’s Sugar Land campus, but it will expand to the future Katy campus opening this fall. The new campus will offer UH’s first traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, with a class of up to 30 students in its first cohort, per the release.
“HCA Houston Healthcare recognizes the value of investing in the long-term success of our students and in providing quality health care in the Houston area,” Renu Khator, president of the University of Houston, said in the release. “Impacting the health and wellness of our city is a top priority, and this partnership will provide our future health care professionals the tools they need to succeed.”
The College of Nursing donation is the latest step in HCA Houston Healthcare’s partnership with UH. The two are collaborating to bring an additional 103 first-year resident positions initially as early as this year, with plans to reach a total of 389 by 2025 in conjunction with the future UH College of Medicine. The college is still pending federal approval, but the Texas Legislature has passed a bill recognizing the new school.
HCA Houston Healthcare also has started a program to pay tuition for eligible nurses pursuing advanced degrees at the UH College of Nursing, per the release.
“We are honored to support and be an integral part of UH’s academic trajectory in health care,” Troy Villarreal, HCA Houston Healthcare CEO, said in the release. “We look at this as a long-term collaboration to develop the most qualified health care professionals possible, while providing access to the best care possible.”
HCA Houston has 15,000 employees, including nearly 7,000 registered nurses, across its network of 14 hospitals, nine outpatient surgery centers, nine freestanding emergency centers and numerous freestanding diagnostic imaging facilities in the greater Houston area. HCA Houston Healthcare is part of Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA).
Separately, UH is partnering with Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) to create the Humana Integrated Health System Sciences Institute at the University of Houston, which will unite the future UH College of Medicine and the existing colleges of nursing, pharmacy, social work and optometry.