BVU, GrapeTree Medical Staffing Connect Through Strategic Partnership

Collaboration with Buena Vista University allows for employees of GrapeTree Medical Staffing, as well as eligible family members of employees, to receive benefits to lower the overall cost of education.

Buena Vista University (BVU) and GrapeTree Medical Staffing have united in a Strategic Partnership to deepen their commitment to education and the communities they serve.

This partnership allows for employees of GrapeTree Medical Staffing, as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, to receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program.

“We’re excited to give our employees an opportunity to advance themselves educationally and help grow their career path,” says GrapeTree Medical Staffing Chief Human Resources Officer Jenna Peterson. “It also will be beneficial to our organization if they can utilize the educational benefits they will receive through this Strategic Partnership to give back to the community in whatever way they see best.” 

“We’re excited to give our employees an opportunity to advance themselves educationally and help grow their career path.”

GrapeTree Medical Staffing Chief Human Resources Officer Jenna Peterson

GrapeTree Medical Staffing provides support by staffing healthcare professionals at about 3,500 long-term care and assisted living facilities and hospitals throughout a 12-state area encompassing Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The business employs more than 250 office staff at its homebase in Milford who manage about 10,000 healthcare professionals—registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants—who fill per diem shifts as well as local and travel long-term assignments left by staffing shortages.

“I went back to school at 29 with a goal in mind: I wanted to be a teacher,” says GrapeTree Medical Staffing OnBoarding Specialist Sara West, who graduated from BVU’s Spencer site on the Iowa Lakes Community College campus in 2017. “BVU offered an extensive number of options when it came to taking classes, and it was easy to create bonds with not only the fellow students, but the teachers and professors as well. BVU was great at working around busy schedules, which was amazing for my growing family. I really loved going there; I always felt like there was a support system no matter where I turned.”

BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties in and around Spencer, home to Iowa Lakes, a campus that has collaborated with BVU for decades. Students enrolled in a program through Iowa Lakes can seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support including admissions and enrollment counseling and academic advising right in Spencer through BVU’s office on the Iowa Lakes campus.

“At BVU, it is our mission to strengthen communities across Iowa by providing affordable, accessible higher education through Strategic Partnerships,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “We look forward to our collaboration with GrapeTree Medical Staffing and the many positive impacts it will have in our Iowa communities and beyond.”

For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Strategic Partnerships at StrategicPartnerships@bvu.edu.

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