KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) – Two ENC institutions have teamed up to provide educational opportunities for students aspiring to enter the nursing profession and help combat the nursing shortage.

UNC Health Lenoir says a new partnership will address a problem that has affected healthcare facilities nationwide and in the east.

The hospital says 10 students from Lenoir, Greene and Jones Counties were awarded full nursing scholarships in conjunction with Lenoir Community College.

Director of Nursing, Brittany Ferrell says candidates were judged on specific characteristics.

“Community service was a big one, academics was another big one and they had to write essays as to why they wanted to be a nurse, what brought them down this path of nursing because it is a choice, you have to choose to do this,” says Ferrell.

The hospital says they along with others across the state, have felt the stress of the nursing shortage over the last few years and that will likely continue.

Chief Nursing Officer, Jill Phlippeau says the goal is to recruit future nurses within Eastern North Carolina.

“We find not just in our community but multiple communities is nurses and students they want to live in the community they grew up in, they want to take care of people that they know and care about and so we both Lenoir Community College and UNC Health Lenoir had that same vision,” say Phlippeau.

The hospital says the scholarship provides full tuition and a monthly stipend to help cover additional expenses experienced by a full-time nursing student –with a total value of $7,000 per academic year.

Ferrell says current and former nurses were paired with students and will act as a mentor.

“We also wanted to kind of tie in the applicant to the specific person and really show that if you were assigned to this person and we reviewed your application process and we found something that connected and standed out we wanted to match you up with this nurse,” says Ferrell.

The hospital says the COVID pandemic negatively impacted the workforce satisfaction rates resulting in early retirements and career changes for many nursing professionals.

Officials say students had to commit to working within the hospital system for two years after graduation to qualify.