Premera Blue Cross teams with the UW to establish rural nursing program

Premera Blue Cross, a leading health plan in the Pacific Northwest, today announced a $4.7 million grant to the University of Washington to establish the Rural Nursing Health Initiative to place current students in rural practices in Washington state.

According to a 2017 study from the National Rural Health Association, people living in rural areas suffer worse health outcomes than their urban counterparts. They have less access to primary care, less access to preventive care, less longevity and less chance of surviving a major heart attack, stroke or other health event. In Washington state, more than a million people, or 14 percent of the state’s population, live in rural communities.

See photos from the launch below, watch the announcement here, and read more about the initiative on UW News.