Oklahoma Hospital Announces Partnership To Address Critical Nursing Shortage

Oklahoma City University and SSM Health St. Anthony's announce a new partnership.

This is to help combat the critical shortage of nursing professionals in the state.

"We know we are facing a shortage of up to a million nurses across the country in the next six years," Elain Richardson, the Regional Chief Nursing Officer at SSM, said. 

She says this program with building the comradery a nursing team needs.

"They have opportunities outside of the clinical training they have to form a community, to be able to build a team," Richardson said. 

One of the first 20 students to join the Saints and Stars program is a junior at OCU Joy Warlick.

'I cannot wait to be a licensed nurse," Warlick said.

She will receive an SSM health nurse mentor.

Each year, there will be 20 new students getting this scholarship working to create nurses while also keeping them here in the state.

 Two SSM health employees may also enroll to get their master's in Nursing each year as well, this program is set to last for the next four years.