Intermountain Healthcare Donates $90,000 to Students for Diversity Scholarships at Southern Utah University and Southwest Tech

Intermountain Cedar City Hospital, in conjunction with the Intermountain Healthcare Community Health team, has donated $90,000 to Southern Utah University and Southwest Tech to be used for scholarships for local students. 

Intermountain donated $60,000 to Southern Utah University for scholarships for minority students, as part of the school’s Diversity in Nursing Scholarship program. These scholarships, up to $3,000 per semester per student, are awarded to SUU nursing students enrolled full-time, and can be used to cover the cost of tuition, books, fees, and any other barriers including child care or transportation, that may prevent culturally-diverse students from enrolling or continuing their education.

“We’re so grateful for our partnerships with Intermountain Healthcare, and grateful for the strong and generous support of our nursing students,” said Mindy Benson, interim president of Southern Utah University. “Providing support and opportunities for students from all socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds is vital, and we thank Intermountain Healthcare for this scholarship donation.”

Intermountain Cedar City Hospital has collectively donated $220,000 in the last six years to the Diversity in Nursing Scholarship program at SUU.

“We are proud to support the outstanding nursing program at SUU. Cedar City Hospital is an official clinical site for the SUU nursing department, which provides an opportunity for student nurses to learn and train in a real-life healthcare setting,” said Eric Packer, Administrator at Cedar City Hospital. “We know first-hand just how exemplary the nursing program is at SUU because Cedar City Hospital ends up hiring many of their graduates. They are an integral part of why our hospital is one of the best rural hospitals in the nation.”

Intermountain also donated $30,000 to Southwest Tech, based in Cedar City, toward a bridge program for scholarships to promote diversity in healthcare. This donation is one of the first of its kind, according to Jordan Merrill, Intermountain Community Health Program Manager. 

“We've donated to many organizations throughout the state, but this will hopefully be the first of many more to come and directly benefit students in this way and in this area,” said Merrill. “Our partnership with Southwest Tech is what has spearheaded this and hopefully will pave the way for other technical colleges and universities to provide funding to bridge the work that is being done with healthcare and our educational systems.”

The work that Southwest Tech does is important, said Merrill. 

“We are grateful to Southwest Tech for providing excellent students and excellent caregivers for us to benefit the community,” Merrill added.

"The Intermountain Healthcare donation is a generous and far-reaching donation. I am thankful to have wonderful partners such as the Cedar City Hospital who invest in the future of our students and support technical education. The donation of $30,000 will have an immediate impact on our region and improve access to healthcare training in seven different health profession programs,” said Southwest Tech President Brennan Wood.

Intermountain’s Community Health team is working to improve the health and well-being of our community by improving mental well-being, preventing avoidable disease, improving air quality, and addressing the social determinants of health.

Fulfilling our mission to help people live the healthiest lives possible requires deploying health system resources, collaborating with community stakeholders to understand health and social needs, and collectively strategizing to improve the well-being of our communities.

Learn more here: https://intermountainhealthcare.org/about/who-we-are/community-health/