Back to News 
A monetary contribution of $175,000 from Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) to Milligan College in Elizabethton, Tenn., will help bolster the Christian liberal arts college in its efforts to expand young and growing nursing program.
During a presentation on Monday, March 11, 2002, MSHA President/CEO Dennis Vonderfecht offered the gift to Milligan College President Don Jeanes noting the offering is aimed at helping to head off a nursing shortage crisis in Northeast Tennessee.
“The manpower shortage is a major issue for all healthcare facilities, particularly for hospitals,” Vonderfecht said. “This represents Mountain States’ commitment to further support its partnership with Milligan College. As the result of our relationship, we’ve already witnessed the growth of the school’s occupational therapy program.”
MSHA previously served as the primary underwriter for Milligan’s Occupational Therapy program. The most recent fiscal award, earmarked for the Nursing program, is to be paid out over a period of three years. According to Jeanes, the money is earmarked for expanding staff, technology and marketing efforts by the nationally recognized educational institution.
“We believe we have a quality program and are happy to be in a partnership with Mountain States to expand the nursing program,” Jeanes said. “We have seen, in the last couple of years, the numbers of students expressing an interest in nursing increase. We do need to expand our faculty and computer services – this will help us to begin this process.”
Two Milligan College graduates – Chris Brackett and Chana Kirby – were also on-hand for the announcement and to demonstrate further how the MSHA, Milligan partnership is working right now. As Registered Nurses at Johnson City Medical Center (JCMC), both found moving into the workforce to be an easy transition once they had graduated as part of the first Milligan Nursing class in 1996.
“I deal closely with the frontline team members – we’re given the opportunity to bring our ideas back and be part of the decision-making process,” Brackett said. “Mountain States Health Alliance administration is phenomenal.”
Kirby made it clear the internal retention component such as the Preceptor Program is one of several “wonderful opportunities” provided by MSHA.
“The preceptorship allows nurses a chance to really engage and interact with other team members,” she said. “The best retention piece is our staff – the people we work with, the teamwork and the emotional support.”
Milligan’s Nursing Program Director, Melinda Collins, said while the relationship between MSHA and the college is nothing new, the $175,000 gift demonstrates a “continued commitment that brings us together in a more cohesive manner.”
“I have parents who bring their students to Milligan to look at the campus,” Collins said, “talk about the program and one of the things they do is to ask about the healthcare facilities the student may go to work in. The MSHA partnership is definitely a recruitment tool as well.”
For Marshalle Eik, who serves as a liaison to colleges and hospitals for MSHA in an effort to recruit nursing staff, this type of quality program and strong relationship helps make her job easier.
“I was recently out to Milligan to offer the Juniors an opportunity to participate in one of our internal educational programs, the Extern Program, and I believe all of the students I spoke to will become part of this seven-week experience,” Eik said.
MSHA Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Kathryn Wilhoit told audience members the national shortage is having an impact here in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, but MSHA is being proactive “in its efforts to recruit and retain nurses.”
While the average age of nurses nationwide is 44, Wilhoit noted the average age within the Alliance is 42. She acknowledges, too, that there are so many opportunities for nurses that the demand for such talents is outstripping the availability of potential employees.
MSHA does offer the Intern/Extern and Preceptor programs along with tuition reimbursement and mentoring. With a comprehensive benefits package and sign-on bonuses, Wilhoit said, MSHA remains competitive in its efforts to hire quality nurses.
Nationally, healthcare experts are worried the nursing shortage will become more widespread later in the decade as the aging population requires more care.