The University of Central Arkansas will receive $24,134 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for scholarships for low-income students enrolled in the undergraduate nursing program.
Dr. Julie Meaux, associate professor in the Department of Nursing at the University of Central Arkansas, said the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program will provide financial assistance to students in the health professions who are economically disadvantaged.
âThe additional money will allow us to provide larger scholarships and to provide assistance to more students,â she said.The number of scholarships awarded will depend on the number of students who qualify based on criteria set by the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, Meaux said.
U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representative Vic Snyder announced recently that UCA will receive $9,560 from The Recovery Act and $14,574 from the Department of Health and Human Services for the scholarships.
âThese funds will benefit aspiring nurses at the University of Central Arkansas by helping them pay for their education,â Lincoln said. âMany of Arkansas’s rural communities are medically underserved, so this investment to help additional nurses graduate in Arkansas is good news for the well-being of our state. I will continue fighting to improve health care and expand access to higher education in Arkansas.â
Pryor said nurses play a critical role in caring for families in local communities, and are especially needed in underserved areas.
âThese federal dollars will allow more students to enter the nursing profession and help Arkansans gain access to care,â he said.
Snyder said he was pleased to see UCA receive this funding to provide more students the opportunity to get a nursing education.
âIncreasing our nursing workforce will help strengthen the medical profession and enhance patient care,â he said.
