Governor Andy Beshear announced multiple grants for Morgan and Rowan counties totaling $3.5 million at a press conference on Monday. Funding supports local airport, tourism, economic development, cybersecurity, a new senior center, and more.
One grant introduces a new $150,000 scholarship program involving Maysville Community and Technical College along with St. Claire Healthcare. Governor Beshear said program participants will work full time at St. Claire Healthcare upon graduation.
“This program is going to help us recruit and retain talented folks who want to make a difference and who want to help save lives. It’s going to help us address some of the healthcare staffing shortages we’ve seen, especially over the past few years.”
At the press conference, the President of the Council of Post-Secondary Education, Dr. Aaron Thompson also spoke. Thompson said the new program is what he calls “forward thinking.”
“It’s more than just having the quantitative elements, you have some qualitative elements and the best way to define quality is that employers want to come and get our students and the students know they have a certificate or a degree that matters to them and their family.”
While in the program, students will be working part-time at St. Claire Healthcare in the forms of externships, internships, or assistantships, but the positions will be directly related to the student’s course of study.