Beacon, Ivy Tech celebrate collaboration at Beacon School of Nursing ribbon cutting

Carl Risk, Elkhart General President; Staisy Cardenas, Beacon administrative fellow; Sharvon Robinson, Ivy Tech Dean of Nursing; and Sarah Paturalski, Memorial Hospital Vice President of Nursing.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony held Thursday at Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend served as the culmination of a partnership and collaboration with Beacon Health System to address the nursing shortage in the community.

The Beacon Health System School of Nursing and Beacon Scholar Program are designed to attract, educate and train nurses who will remain in the community to care for patients locally. Students who are selected as Beacon Scholars will have the cost of their Ivy Tech education, including books, covered by Beacon. In return, Beacon will provide these students with a living stipend and future employment as a Beacon nurse upon completion of the program.

Beacon has already confirmed support of nearly 70 Beacon Scholar students. One-third of those students are first-generation college students, said Sarah Paturalski, Vice President of Nursing at Memorial Hospital of South Bend.

“This program has helped to create a clear and defined career path for people wanting to become nurses,” Paturalski said. “Together, we are removing potential barriers for students who dream to complete higher education and spend their career dedicated to the profession.”

Paturalski said the Beacon Scholars program has also created a new career path for Beacon nurses to work in both academia and the hospital bedside as hybrid faculty.

Click here for more information about the Beacon Scholar program at the Beacon Health System School of Nursing at Ivy Tech.

To those future nurses who are now students at the new Beacon School of Nursing, Paturalski offered this heartfelt message:

“Thank you for choosing to dedicate your life to the profession of nursing. We are honored to be a part of your education and we welcome you with open arms to the profession and to the Beacon team.”