University Of Wisconsin - Green Bay: Tuition Credit Initiative Bolsters Wisconsin's Health Care Workforce During COVID-19 Surge

Press release from University of Wisconsin - Green Bay:

Sue Bodilly

March 8, 2022

MADISON, Wis. – (Feb. 28, 2022) A tuition credit will strengthen Wisconsin’s health care workforce by incentivizing nursing students at UW System schools to help staff hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and health care facilities in the state during the recent COVID-19 surge and its aftermath.

The initiative is funded through a $500,000 COVID-19 Response Grant from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Partnership Program and is led by the UW– Madison School of Nursing.

This grant expands the COVID-19 student health care worker initiative previously announced by UW System in December 2021 to help address widespread health care staffing challenges in the state as the omicron variant threatened to overwhelm Wisconsin’s health care systems. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services provided the initial $500,000 toward the incentive program. Now, with a combined $1 million in funding, up to 2,000 UW nursing students will be eligible for a $500 tuition credit during the spring semester for working in hospitals and other health care settings between December 1, 2021 and March 20, 2022.

“Throughout the pandemic, hundreds of UW students have gained valuable experience working in health care settings while also earning a tuition credit. It’s another example of the Wisconsin Idea,” said UW System President Tommy Thompson. “I appreciate the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s commitment to this important program.”

“The UW–Madison and UW System nursing schools already contribute significantly to the development of health care workers in our state,” UW–Madison School of Nursing Dean

This press release was produced by University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. The views expressed here are the author’s own.