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Wright State University and Premier Health Nursing Academy expands affordable pathway to nursing careers amid growing demand. The program provides tuition assistance, paid employment and hands-on experience while addressing the need for healthcare workers July 23, 2026 Wright State Nursing Academy students gain hands-on clinical experience in the classroom and through paid positions at Premier Health. (Photo by Erin Pence) The Wright State University and Premier Health Nursing Academy is helping more students pursue nursing careers through financial support, hands-on clinical experience and a direct pathway to employment. The program provides eligible nursing students with up to $8,000 in annual tuition assistance from Premier Health. Combined with Wright State University scholarships and available federal and state financial aid, the support helps make earning a nursing degree more accessible, enabling students to complete their degrees and launch careers that strengthen and retain the nursing workforce across the Dayton region. Students in Wright State's Nursing Academy complete the same academic curriculum as other nursing students while working as paid, part-time Premier Health employees. This experience allows students to become acclimated to a professional healthcare environment, build relationships with care teams, explore nursing specialties and gain firsthand insight into the career opportunities available across Premier Health's network of facilities and locations. The Nursing Academy has demonstrated early success in local workforce retention. Of 13 students from Wright State's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program who have completed the academy, 10 are currently employed at Premier Health. "By connecting students with meaningful healthcare experiences early in their academic journey, Premier is able to develop and retain this talent while helping address critical workforce needs across our organization," said Mallon Briggerman, workforce and talent development business partner at Premier Health. Lillian Currey, a 2026 graduate, is employed as a new graduate nurse in the Emergency Department at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown. "Remaining in the Dayton area to serve this community was extremely important to me. I also wanted to begin my nursing career with an organization where I could continue learning, gain experience and be encouraged to grow both personally and professionally," said Currey. "By working at Premier Health through the program, I became familiar with their environment, equipment, workflows and patient interactions, while also building confidence and developing relationships. With support from my managers, encouragement to pursue professional development and being advocated for as both a student and a professional, I saw how Premier invests in their employees' growth and development." "Affordability is a key consideration for many students and families when making decisions about higher education," said Bethany DeLong, director of enrollment and retention in the College of Health, Education, and Human Services. "The financial support provided by these programs makes pursuing a nursing degree more accessible and helps students see a career in healthcare as an achievable goal." Currey echoes this sentiment, noting that Premier's financial investment demonstrates how the organization is actively supporting the next generation of nurses in their career goals. "As someone who has paid for their own education, the program significantly reduced my financial burden," she said. "Looking back, if the academy had existed when I first began at Wright State, I would have graduated debt-free." Building on the success of the undergraduate Nursing Academy, Wright State University and Premier Health expanded their partnership to support nurses throughout their careers with the launch of the graduate-level Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Academy. While the Nursing Academy helps undergraduate students begin their nursing careers through tuition assistance and clinical experience, the APRN Academy supports current practicing nurses who hold a bachelor's degree as they pursue advanced practice education at Wright State. Participants pursue either adult-gerontology acute care or family nurse practitioner concentrations, which align with Premier Health's highest workforce needs, and are eligible for up to $10,000 annually in financial support. The College of Health, Education and Human Services anticipates continued growth in program participation as Wright State's nursing program expands. The university's nursing facilities are undergoing a $6 million expansion project that will nearly double enrollment from 380 this spring to an estimated 740 by the 2027-28 academic year.

Wright State and Premier Health partnership awarded first-of-its-kind $2.5M federal grant to expand street medicine in Ohio. The effort supports a statewide priority focused on bringing primary care directly to individuals experiencing homelessness May 19, 2026 A five-year Health Resources and Services Administration Family Medicine Education Training Grant will allow the Dayton Street Medicine program to provide care for more patients and train additional medical students and residents. (Photos courtesy of Premier Health) Wright State University's Boonshoft School of Medicine and Premier Health received a $2.5 million federal grant - the first of its kind awarded in Ohio - to expand Dayton Street Medicine, a program delivering primary care directly to people experiencing homelessness. The five-year Health Resources and Services Administration Family Medicine Education Training Grant will help the program provide care for more patients and train additional medical students and residents. A collaboration between the Boonshoft School of Medicine, Premier Health, Premier Community Health and the Dayton Dream Center, the Dayton Street Medicine project launched in 2025 with support from the OneOhio Recovery Foundation. It currently operates one half-day a week from the Premier Health Mobile Clinic at the Dream Center, on East Third Street, bringing health screenings and primary medical care to people who face overlapping challenges - such as chronic illness, behavioral health conditions and substance use - compounded by unstable housing. Along with medical services, the program connects patients to resources and social support. In the first 12 months of operation, Dayton Street Medicine has delivered 448 clinical visits and 313 health screenings, serving about 300 unique individuals. "Our program stood out because of our long-standing commitment to community-based care, our robust resident training infrastructure and our established cross-sector partnerships," said Anna Squibb, M.D., program director of family medicine and addiction medicine at Premier Health and medical director of Dayton Street Medicine. This summer, Dayton Street Medicine will add two new service days. One will extend care to a rural setting through a new partnership with the Bethany Center in Piqua and Miami County Public Health - a site, like the Dream Center, where people already come for support. "Bringing street medicine to a rural setting is both a natural next step and a meaningful opportunity. It allows us to better serve communities with limited access to care while giving our learners firsthand experience navigating the complexities - and rewards - of practicing medicine in underserved areas," said Marietta Orlowski, Ph.D., a professor of population and public health sciences at Wright State and the director of Dayton Street Medicine's Rural Initiatives. The second will launch street rounds, bringing a care team to individuals who may not reach either location by focusing outreach in high-needs areas in Dayton. Each outreach team will include a family medicine physician, a peer recovery supporter and a program coordinator who is also a certified medical assistant, along with medical students and family medicine residents. Dayton Street Medicine has created a highly innovative and immersive learning experience for medical students and residents. Key to the Dayton Street Medicine program's success is its close partnerships with more than a dozen community agencies and organizations, including Miami Valley Housing Opportunities; the City of Dayton's GROW program, Police and Fire Departments, and Community Paramedicine; Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery; and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality. "This work would not be possible without our community partners," Squibb said. "These relationships allow us to coordinate care effectively and address the full spectrum of needs our patients face." Medical students, residents and addiction medicine fellows learn not only clinical skills but also how to understand and navigate patients' lives outside the exam room. The program has created a highly innovative and immersive learning experience for students, said Sydney Silverstein, Ph.D., associate professor of population and public health sciences and the director of outreach, engagement and community partnerships at Dayton Street Medicine. "Seeing the tremendous need and hearing about the struggles that our patients have faced in previous health care encounters has greatly motivated our students to seek out careers providing care to the populations that we see during street medicine and educating their peers and community about the great need for trauma-informed, quality health care in places like Dayton," she said. Medical student Beth Ekeh said the program reframed her understanding of what medicine can be. "I have learned how to practice medicine outside the box," Ekeh said. "Dayton Street Medicine has illustrated how we can address barriers to provide comprehensive and compassionate care for our patients. Additionally, I have gained an understanding of the challenges my patients are facing outside traditional clinical settings that are impacting their health." For fellow medical student Isabelle Fox, the lessons included more than techniques. "Delivering care on the mobile bus has helped me problem solve and work through providing medical care without the full scope of resources at our fingertips," Fox said. Fox said the experience also influenced her approach to medicine. "One of the biggest takeaways for me is that I want to be someone that patients can trust and feel comfortable with, especially those who may be hesitant to seek care because of prior negative experiences or stigma," she said. Dayton Street Medicine's impact is designed to grow. As Boonshoft School of Medicine graduates and residents take street medicine training into practice, the program's model travels with them. "As graduates enter practice across Ohio, they will carry this training forward, expanding access to compassionate, community-based care beyond the Miami Valley," Squibb said.