The Hospital Cooperative establishes new scholarship endowment for students in health care fields

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho State University has received an endowment from The Hospital Cooperative.

The Hospital Cooperative Scholarship Endowment will benefit students majoring in Healthcare Administration, Master of Healthcare Administration, Nursing and Medical Laboratory Science.

The Hospital Cooperative is a non-profit consortium of 17 hospitals throughout Southeast Idaho and West Wyoming. According to their website, they are composed of an executive board of 17 hospital leaders who guide members to “strengthen regional health care by providing support and increasing value through shared resources, knowledge and information.”

“The Hospital Cooperative wanted to create this scholarship endowment to be a part of the long-term solution to attract students to te health care field,” Chief Executive Officer Bobby Cuoio said. “Currently, there are major shortages for various health care fields. The future outlook also indicates that there will be a massive shortage of nurses to deal with an increasingly aging population.”

“It is our hope that this scholarship endowment will be able to help students in the future and create a legacy of education for students interested in the health care field. College is a big commitment and some high school graduates cannot afford to go to the next level. We hope this scholarship endowment will be able to help students in need,” Cuoio said.

Cuoio believes supporting healthcare administration and its graduate component are important to the betterment of the health care field.

“It is important to have highly qualified staff within our regional hospitals, clinics and medical offices, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home health agencies, mental health/treatment facilities, imaging centers and urgent care," he said. "There are a lot of choices for health care services and it would be advantageous to have highly trained administrators, financial officers and operational leads to keep them sustainable.”

“The Hospital Cooperative and all of the hospital members in the region appreciate the relationship with Idaho State University,” said Brad Huerta, chairperson for The Hospital Cooperative. “It is vital to form strong bonds and work together to face the challenges ahead. This scholarship will strengthen regional health care for years to come.”

Operations Manager, Brittni Anthony, graduated six years ago from Idaho State College of Business’s Healthcare Administration program.

“It is a personal joy of mine to see our organization helping the next wave of healthcare professionals,” she said.

"I am very thankful to the Hospital Cooperative for permanently endowing this new scholarship that will benefit our Healthcare Administration students forever,” said College of Business Dean, Shane Hunt. “All of us at Idaho State University are committed to supporting our great health care providers across the state by providing incredible interns and graduates that will help lead us to a brighter future."