Guaranteed job for nursing students in new partnership between HFC and Corewell Health

The road from college to career typically involves earning a credential, then looking for a job.

But that pathway will soon change for nursing students at Henry Ford College, which is partnering with Michigan's largest hospital system in a program that will combine education, immersive training and then — a guaranteed job.

Henry Ford College officials hail the new Nurse Immersive Clinical and Employment Program with Corewell Health as a "paradigm shift" in higher education. They also say it is a blueprint for what other higher-education programs could look like in the future to give students a clear vision of their career path while establishing a sustainable pipeline of qualified workers for industry.

"This is the first step in what is the future of higher education," said Henry Ford College President Russ Kavalhuna. "Students and families will have a clear path not only to success at an institution of higher education but to what they hope to achieve, a better life."

Meanwhile, Corwell Health says it is a step in addressing the longtime shortage of nurses, especially after the pandemic.

“This partnership is not just a win-win for Corewell Health and Henry Ford College, it’s a win-win for the city of Dearborn and ultimately, the entire state,” said Kelli Sadler, senior vice president and chief nursing executive of Corewell Health in southeast Michigan.

Kavalhuna and Sadler, along with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, other college and hospital officials will launch the nursing program on Monday in which Corewell Health is investing just under $500,000.

The program is similar to ones underway at Oakland University and Schoolcraft College.

Scholarships, training

Officials say the Henry Ford College program will provide scholarships to nursing students up to $9,380; embed the students in clinical and immersive on-site training; offer "learn and earn" opportunities; and engage the Corewell nursing staff in preparing the next generation of nurses.

Then, students will be guaranteed a job in the Corewell Health System, which includes eight hospitals in Southeast Michigan, after they pass the nursing test for certification, meet the health system's criteria and agree to work for the company for at least two years.

"We hope forever, but at least two years," said Sadler. "We want to have that established pipeline to continue to grow nurses."

The program will start with student scholarships during winter semester 2024, and the immersive clinical component will begin in fall 2024.

It comes as the nation and Michigan continues to face a shortage of nurses, especially after the pandemic.

A job posting analysis by Lightcast, which provides data for labor market analytics, showed there was an average of 1,119 job posting for registered nurses every month in Wayne County between January 2021 and June 2023. But the analytics, provided by Henry Ford College, showed only 437 jobs filled, or 1 in 3.

There were roughly 8,500 open nursing positions in Michigan this past spring, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.

And a University of Michigan study that surveyed over 10,000 of Michigan’s registered nurses in 2022 found that nearly 40% planned to leave their jobs within a year.

"With the baby boomers and the aging population, we think about how critically important it is to make sure we have those prepared caregivers for the future of heath care," Sadler said. "For us, it is really important for us to have partnerships such as this with Henry Ford."

Less anxiety in finding a job

For students, Sadler said it removes the anxiety of not being able to find a job after college and scholarships helps alleviate the cost burden.

"For us, we are better able to plan our needs around staffing and helps us make sure we can take care of those patients that are depending on us for their health and their care and treatment," Sadler said.

Trenton resident Lauren Miller has known she wanted to be a nurse since her sophomore year of high school. She was in and out of hospitals as her father was sick and eventually lost his battle with numerous ailments linked to diabetes.

"I saw how the nurses took care of him and it made me want to ... do it for him," Miller said.

She is now a nursing student at Henry Ford College who is on track to graduate in May. She has been in conversations with colleagues about a job after graduation as she works with as a nurse extern at Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital. But she doesn't have a guarantee, like the new program will offer to nursing students in the future.

Future nursing students are lucky to be able to take advantage of this program, said Miller, 21.

"Knowing that as a student once you graduate you will get a job, it’s a sense of security and a motivation that everything is going to fall into place," she said.

Charles Brooks, another Henry Ford College nursing student, agrees.

He was inspired to become a nurse after watching nurses outside of Sinai Grace Hospital during the pandemic and he was quarantining at a relative's home. His grandmother, mother and sister are all nurses too.

Brooks, 33, enrolled at Henry Ford College in December 2021 after dropping out of high school in tenth grade, earning his GED in 2007, a medical assistant certificate in 2010 and then attending Wayne State University for a year and a half before stopping out in 2012 following a death of a family member.

The father of five children, Brooks said he's grateful that he was able to go back to college with Michigan Reconnect, a state program offering free tuition at a community college for adults age 21 and over. He hopes to take advantage of the new Nurse Immersive Clinical and Employment Program.

"That is a wonderful opportunity in the medical field," said Brooks, a Detroit resident. "It takes the stress and the burden off of what’s next. More programs should be like that."

Henry Ford College hopes to expand the model to other careers at the Dearborn-based school and also serving as a blueprint for other colleges here and across the nation, said Michael Nealon, Henry Ford College Vice President of Academic Affairs.

"It’s been a very elusive dream of community colleges in America," Nealon said, "to be able to honestly and truthfully say to our students that upon successful completion of this program, you will step into the career that you are seeking to launch."

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com