BVU, Greater Regional Health link via Strategic Partnership
Through a Strategic Partnership with Buena Vista University, Greater Regional Health offers educational benefits to its employees and their eligible family members.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and Greater Regional Health have joined forces as Strategic Partners to help strengthen their communities and the region.
This partnership allows for employees of Greater Regional Health, 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.
BVU professors and staff are also available for training programs, workshops, and more should officials with Greater Regional Health seek those services and expertise.
“We are excited about our Strategic Partnership with Buena Vista University as it offers our employees and their family members an accessible and affordable pathway toward earning a college degree,” says Amy Rieck, Greater Regional Health Chief Human Resources Officer. “This initiative represents an excellent way in which both entities can serve to strengthen the families and communities we serve.
Greater Regional Health, which has a workforce numbering more than 500 people, is a regional healthcare system headquartered in Creston. The enterprise, known as “more than a hospital,” offers more than 50 service lines that deliver big-city expertise with a hometown feel. Greater Regional Health features three health clinics operating in surrounding communities: Lenox Medical Clinic, Mt. Ayr Community Health Clinic, and Corning Medical Clinic. Crest Ridge Estates, designed for the active senior, is a secure, private apartment complex located in Greater Regional Health’s main campus backyard.
“We recognize and serve each individual’s specific needs through the delivery of person-centered care,” Rieck says. “We serve and work together in an honest, humble, and reliable manner while maintaining the highest ethical and performance standards.”
Greater Regional Health is also an affiliate partner with UnityPoint Health-Des Moines through a formal management agreement and a Critical Access Hospital network pact.
“The online platform and open dialogue with instructors and professors have given me flexibility and confidence to finish my educational goals.”
Carol Eckels
Greater Regional Health Chief Clinic Officer Carol Eckels restarted her educational journey in May 2019 with a push to finish her bachelor’s degree.
“The experience with BVU was so positive and fit my busy lifestyle so well that I graduated and stayed in for my master’s degree, which I’ll finish this December,” Eckels says. “The online platform and open dialogue with instructors and professors have given me flexibility and confidence to finish my educational goals. As a non-traditional student, I was very intimidated to become a college student again, but the administrative and support staff gave me peace of mind in the process. I’m proud to be a BVU alum and super excited to have my master’s degree in organizational leadership.”
BVU has enjoyed a long working relationship in and around Creston through Southwestern Iowa Community College (SWCC), a site for BVU instruction for decades. SWCC students seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support including admissions and enrollment counseling and academic advising in Creston through BVU’s office on the SWCC campus.
“Buena Vista University is thrilled to join forces with Greater Regional Health through the Strategic Partnership, one way in which both organizations will serve to empower students and their loved ones while taking steps to better equip our communities for the future,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “We are proud to partner with Greater Regional Health, a proven leader in southwest and south-central Iowa.”
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.