Soaring for Students
Centene, Peach State Health Plan Invest $2.2 Million in Rural Healthcare
EXPANDING THE WORKFORCE FOR RURAL HEALTHCARE: Pictured (L to R): John Bradberry, M.D., senior medical director, Peach State Health Plan (PSHP); Cameron Walker, community relations representative, PSHP; Ryan Schroeder, Ph.D., dean of the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences; Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero; Whitney Nash, Ph.D., APRN, dean of the Water College of Health Professions; Marty Fallon, vice president, PSHP Office of Rural Health and Strategic Initiatives.; and Trip Addison, vice president for University Advancement.
With its proud history and strong future, Georgia Southern University continues to build on its success. The University is partnering with Peach State Health Plan (PSHP) to provide education and training for healthcare professionals needed in underserved areas of rural Georgia. PSHP, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, offers a range of health insurance solutions to Georgians.
Centene’s philanthropic arm, Centene Foundation, and PSHP will invest $2.2 million to expand a workforce development program designed to support rural healthcare through enhancement to Georgia Southern’s nursing, physicians’ assistants and addiction recovery specialists’ programs. Through this new partnership, PSHP will work with Georgia Southern’s Institute for Health Logistics & Analytics (IHLA) to support data-driven, targeted programs at the university to address these critical shortages and improve the health and well-being of the community.
“We have a history of developing public-private partnerships that bridge the gaps in health care access and coverage throughout Georgia,” said Centene’s Chief Growth Officer and Plan President and CEO of PSHP Wade Rakes. “With this funding, Georgians will soon see increased access to maternal, behavioral and chronic care professionals.”
Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero stated, “Georgia Southern is delighted to partner with PSHP on a project aimed at enhancing our capacity to bring a greater number of highquality healthcare professionals to the rural regions of Georgia. Rural Georgia is facing a significant shortage of nurses, mental health specialists and addiction counselors. To address this critical need, it is imperative that we streamline the educational pathways for students pursuing these fields.”
The University’s Waters College of Health Professions will expand recruitment, enrollment, retention and graduation of Bachelor in Science Nursing (BSN) students, with a focus on students in rural Georgia. Funding will be used to develop and implement a Certified Nursing Assistant Program (CNA) that will serve as an early pipeline for the BSN program. In the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, funding will be used to expand the addiction recovery program. This expanded program will allow Georgia Southern to provide more staff and supervised postgraduate training opportunities in rural Georgia to increase the overall number of Certified Level II Addiction Counselors in Georgia.