N.C. A&T to use $1 million from Blue Cross NC for its nursing program

April 25--GREENSBORO -- N.C. A&T will use a $1 million gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to help its nursing program.

The gift, announced Wednesday, is the fourth million-dollar donation from the Durham-based health insurer to a university nursing program in North Carolina this year.

A&T will spend most of the money on scholarships. The university plans to award $2,000 scholarships to about 300 nursing students over the next two or three years.

A&T also plans to use some of the money to buy new nursing equipment and technology and to help its nursing graduates prepare for and pay for the state licensing exam.

At the announcement ceremony at Union Square Campus, where some A&T nursing students take their classes, Chancellor Harold Martin thanked Blue Cross for "this incredible investment (and) tremendous commitment" to the program.

A&T's School of Nursing is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. The program has about 190 students.

Over the past year, Blue Cross NC has given $1 million to nursing programs at three other historically black colleges in the state: Fayetteville State University, N.C. Central University and Winston-Salem State University.

John Smith, Blue Cross NC's lead medical director, said the company is donating to nursing schools to reduce the shortage of nurses across the state, especially in rural areas.

Wednesday's gift is part of a previously announced Blue Cross NC plan to spend $50 million on community health initiatives throughout North Carolina this year. The insurer said most of this money comes from an estimated $40 million in savings from the new federal tax law enacted in late December.

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