TriStar Health, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare, announced that HCA Healthcare will give $600,000 to Meharry Medical College to support paid internship and scholarship opportunities over four years for graduate students in the School of Applied Computational Sciences (SACS). This investment is part of HCA Healthcare’s $10 million pledge to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
“We are thrilled to continue our support of Meharry Medical College and provide additional opportunities for graduate students to further their education through scholarships and internships,” said Mitch Edgeworth, president of the HCA Healthcare TriStar Division. “Our organization is committed to increasing access to healthcare careers across the Middle Tennessee community.”
Meharry Medical College is one of the nation’s oldest and largest historically Black academic health science centers. In addition to a medical school, Meharry Medical College is home to a dental school, graduate school and applied computational sciences school. Founded in 2021, Meharry’s SACS offers both M.S. Data Science and M.S. Biomedical Data Science degrees.
“It is a pleasure to work with Meharry Medical College, a long-standing and respected institution here in Nashville, to provide opportunities for young professionals to explore fulfilling careers in healthcare and data science,” said Sherri Neal, chief diversity officer of HCA Healthcare.
This gift will support paid internships annually for students in Meharry’s SACS. Students in good standing will be recommended by SACS faculty for internships in HCA Healthcare’s Information Technology Group (ITG). The gift will also be used to provide scholarships for students enrolled in Meharry’s SACS graduate data science degree programs. Both scholars and interns will have access to recruiting events, year-round leadership development opportunities and guest lectures.
“HCA Healthcare and TriStar Health’s partnership is a testimony to the importance of educating data science students at Meharry,” said Meharry President James E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D. “Thanks to HCA Healthcare’s support, we will educate more students who will ethically apply artificial intelligence (without algorithmic and societal biases) to improve health care.”
“I meet so many bright students from diverse backgrounds whose only barrier to improving health care through data is affording their degree,” said Fortune S. Mhlanga, Ph.D., dean of the School of Applied Computational Sciences. “This scholarship and internship support from a global leader in health care will launch talented students into successful careers.”
HCA Healthcare and TriStar Health have a long-standing relationship, with many Meharry students going on to practice at TriStar Health hospitals. Members of HCA Healthcare leadership have also served on Meharry’s Board of Trustees. In addition, TriStar Health hosts Meharry medical students during their third-year clerkships at TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center for family medicine and TriStar Skyline Medical Center for emergency medicine.
HCA Healthcare has a history of partnering with higher education institutions across the country to help strengthen the diversity of the organization’s talent pipeline. This year, HCA Healthcare gifted Nova Southeastern University $500,000 to help establish a clinical simulation lab in support of their new nurse anesthesiology program, Savannah State University $650,000 to support a paid internship program for students pursuing a master’s degree in social work and $200,000 to St. Mary’s University to support their Greehey School of Business. Last fall, HCA Healthcare gave $620,000 to the University of California, Riverside (UCR) to support scholarship for students in the UCR School of Medicine.
In 2022, HCA Healthcare gave $1.5 million to Tennessee State University (TSU) to create scholarship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate school students pursuing careers in healthcare and computer science and $1.5 million to Fisk University to support scholarships for students pursuing healthcare careers and a dual degree with Galen College of Nursing. The same year, the organization also gave $750,000 to The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) to create multiple graduate-degree opportunities for students interested in healthcare administration careers. Additionally, $1.5 million was given to Florida International University’s (FIU) Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences (NWCNHS) to expand its faculty, offer scholarships to increase enrollment and help address the national nursing shortage.
In 2021, HCA Healthcare announced a $1.5 million investment in Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) School of Allied Health Sciences to strengthen students’ pathways from undergraduate to graduate to management careers in the healthcare industry.
