By Gage Vota for The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. — The Health Plan and West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine announced the school’s inclusion in The Health Plan Scholarship Program on Friday.
Since its creation in 2009, the scholarship program has provided over $43 million in scholarships to more than 50 medical and nursing students to practice in the state of West Virginia.
“We started this program approximately 15 years ago. We recognized that there was a shortage of primary care physicians in the area, and we wanted to come up with a way to help. This was a great opportunity for us to provide some education and money for students who are less fortunate,” The Health Plan President and CEO Jeff Knight said.
Established in 1979, The Health Plan is a nonprofit health maintenance organization with the mission to manage and improve the health and well-being of its members.
“So as a nonprofit organization, this is one of our ways of giving back and giving to the less fortunate,” he added. “The health care staffing shortage continues to be a significant issue in West Virginia. The Health Plan is committed to supporting our state’s health care workforce, and we’re thrilled to team up with West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine to offer our scholarship program to its students.”
