PHILADELPHIA, PA, November 8, 2023— Executives from the Independence Blue Cross (IBX) Foundation announced The Independence Blue Cross Foundation Service Scholars program, an initiative that will benefit post-9/11 veterans.
According to Independence Blue Cross Foundation’s Executive Vice President Steve Fera, the initiative was created to support our current healthcare system, nurses, and military veterans. The announcement comes right before Veteran’s Day is celebrated in the U.S. and at a crucial time when statistics show that Pennsylvania will lead the nursing gap; to further prove his point, Fera shared, “The Bureau of Labor Statistics that Pennsylvania’s demand for nurses will increase by 9% by 2030. That puts us in the top 5 states with respect to the nursing gap.”
Fera continued to describe the similarities between our military veterans and nurses with respect to their work ethics and drives; like nurses, veterans are mission-oriented, work well under pressure, and are driven to help serve the community. He also described some of the hardships veterans commonly face while re-entering the workforce, including disruption of their education, credits not transferring from what they’ve already learned, along with several other roadblocks veterans face. “With all these things added up, we saw a unique opportunity to help. That’s why today, just in time for Veteran’s Day, we’re excited to announce a new program for military veterans in healthcare called The Independence Blue Cross Foundation Service Scholars Program. Service Scholars is built upon our Foundation’s longstanding support for nursing through educational opportunities and commitment to diversity and representation by leveraging existing educational programs at nursing schools under the Yellow Ribbon Program administered by The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Service Scholars will help accelerate the pathway to a career in healthcare.”
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