Leaders at St. Catherine University are still pinching themselves after receiving an $18 million grant to innovate their health care education and global initiatives.
The grant is one of the largest, if not the largest, ever received by the St. Paul university. And it comes from a Catholic philanthropy — the Minnetonka-based GHR Foundation — that typically doesn't dole out such monster grants.
The funds will allow the university to pursue its dream of making health care education more relevant to its students and the needs of communities, said Penny Moyers, dean of the Henrietta Schmoll School of Health at St. Kate's.
Moyers had presented the proposal to GHR Foundation, but wasn't sure it would buy into the university's ambitious plans.
"I was shocked and excited and thrilled," said Moyers. She joked, "Then I realized, now I have to deliver."
The plan runs on several tracks.
• Students studying in one of St. Kate's health care programs will have a chance to get a scholarship and on-the-job experience in a health care setting through a Certified Nursing Assistant training program that results in a paid part-time job upon completion. The pilot program, starting in May, is designed to better inform students about health care professions, as well as boost retention rates for CNAs, who have high turnover.
• A master's degree in Global Public Health will be launched, in part providing scholarships to students to engage in foreign travel and work with religious groups providing health care. The first focus will be Zambia, which is where the GHR Foundation has a child protection program.
