Western, Mosaic announce nursing program partnership

By Jazmine Knight

Missouri Western State University and Mosaic Life Care have a new partnership that will support nursing students both before and after graduation.

A new grow-your-own program allows select nursing students to earn employment and scholarship benefits in exchange for a four-year commitment to work for Mosaic following graduation.

The Nursing Scholars of Promise program is designed to cover the cost of earning a nursing degree for three years.

Qualifying students will start as freshmen in the program. In addition to their normal class schedule, each student is required to work part time at Mosaic for 12 hours a week throughout the school year. There are also opportunities for summer employment.

“It’s always nice to have a part-time job, particularly one that relates to the career field eventually that you want to go into,” said Elizabeth Kennedy, Missouri Western’s president.

The program also will have students team up with a mentor to help them navigate academic challenges.

“Someone who will help them kind of engage with the hospital as they take on different employment roles as they move up and eventually become nursing assistants and then graduate and become nurses,” she said.

Kennedy said the program should ease the minds of students and their families when it comes to the cost of college. Additionally, it allows them to focus more on classes, their careers and developing relationships with peers.

Mike Poore, CEO of Mosaic Life Care, said not only is the program a great opportunity to bring highly skilled nurses to Mosaic but it also serves as a good investment into the student.

“Many of us had internships or that kind of opportunity to work in health care, and it really helps you figure out what you want to do,” Poore said.

He said the nursing profession has had an immense amount of pressure since COVID.

“There’s a critical need for nurses throughout the community,” Poore said. “We got two phenomenons — the aging population and our staff also ages out too.”

With this program, students can work in a hospital setting while getting to know staff and different fields of nursing and making money. It also gives students more experience to put on their resume when applying for further employment.

“There is nothing you can get in a big-city hospital that you don’t get within the Mosaic system,” Poore said.

Students who would rather work in smaller facilities can choose to do so if they please. Mosaic has 60 physician clinics and four medical centers all with different levels of care to cater to the preferences of each student.

Adding Mosaic’s connection with the Mayo Clinic, Poore notes students have access to the number one health system in the world.

“For example, recently we’re starting up a new neuro-interventional program. It’s a stroke program,” he said. “Our staff went to Mayo and trained there so that they could come back here and start those procedures in our hospital as well.”

Both Kennedy and Poore said the program is a win-win for everyone and added they can’t wait to meet the first class of nurses soon.

The Nursing Scholars of Promise program will begin accepting freshmen in the fall of 2025. For more information, contact Missouri Western State University.