$1 million grant from new state matching program will fund scholarships for DNP-Nurse Anesthesia students

Bellarmine received a $500,000 grant from Anesthesia Services of Kentucky and a matching grant of $500,000 from the new Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund on Oct. 30. Dr. Mushtaque Juneja '00 MBA, the CEO of Anesthesia Services of Kentucky, had previously given $1.75 million to Bellarmine's nurse anesthesia program, which is named for him.

The matching grant was made possible through legislation that the Kentucky General Assembly passed in 2023 and funded in 2024. House Bill 200 created the Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund (HWIF), a public and private partnership that is administered by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).

The HWIF matches a private provider's funding for scholarships in a specific healthcare-education program. Scholarship recipients commit to working in Kentucky for at least one year after completing their training. All together, the CPE awarded $11.8 million in matching dollars last week to 33 eligible postsecondary healthcare programs offered by 19 education and training providers, in partnership with regional employers.

"We are grateful to the Kentucky legislature for creating this opportunity to increase funding for scholarships to students majoring in crucial healthcare disciplines," said Bellarmine President Susan M. Donovan. "We are also grateful to Dr. Juneja for his continued generosity and support of our nurse anesthesia students.

"We are committed to forming partnerships that benefit not only our students but also our larger community, and this is a wonderful example of that."

The Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia (DNP-NA) degree prepares nurses for high-paying jobs and a higher level of autonomy in a growing career field. Nurse anesthetists practice in virtually every healthcare setting.

Juneja, who practices at Norton Hospital in downtown Louisville and Norton Women's and Children's Hospital in St. Matthews, said the growing national shortage of anesthesiologists is a big opportunity for Bellarmine.

Bellarmine's program was announced in December 2022 and accredited in early 2023. The program's capacity was increased for the second cohort to 20 students from 18 after approximately 300 candidates expressed interest.

Photo: (L-R) Dr. Aaron Thompson, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE); Dr. Mushtaque Juneja '00 MBA; Dr. Heather Owens, dean of the Lansing School of Nursing and Clinical Sciences; Dr. Leslie Sizemore, AVP for Workforce and Economic Initiatives at CPE; and Kentucky Rep. Ken Fleming.