MIDDLETOWN, OH — The future of healthcare in the region got a boost today as Middletown Regional Hospital announced the addition of Miami University as the higher education partner with the Greentree Health Science Academy. The Greentree Health Science Academy is an educational collaboration between Middletown Regional Hospital, Butler Technology and Career Development Schools (Butler Tech) and Warren County Career Center. The academy has been preparing local high school students for healthcare careers since 2002.

Miami University will be the higher education component of a seamless pathway that will lead students, some starting as early as high school, to careers that are in very high demand in southwestern Ohio. The initial three-year plan will result in 425 new graduates in high-need healthcare fields.

"Our goal is to provide the number of graduates that Middletown Regional Hospital and the region require in fields where they are needed," says Miami Middletown Interim Dean Dr. Kelly Cowan. "To accomplish this, we will create new Miami programs, expand existing programs and work with other institutions."

"Not only is this agreement good for Miami and its students, it's good for Middletown Regional Hospital and the citizens of the region," states Dr. Cowan. We are very pleased to be a part of this forward-thinking collaboration."

Through the Greentree Health Science Academy, Butler Tech and Warren County Career Center currently train high school students in technical programs preparing them for healthcare fields. These students can readily move into university degree programs through their tech prep coursework. The addition of Miami University to the Greentree Health Science Academy brings additional options to these students, including the opportunity to move directly into a four-year degree program at Miami.

"By offering career training for area students, we are providing a local solution to the national problem of a shrinking healthcare workforce," states Douglas W. McNeill, FACHE, president and CEO of Middletown Regional Health System. "The Greentree Health Science Academy, through its existing partners and the new collaboration with Miami University, can transform local students into well-trained healthcare workers—capable of leading the healthcare industry into the next decade and beyond."

Miami University will offer parts or all of six degree programs identified as high need. They include several nursing degrees (associate, bachelor's and traditional bachelor of science degrees in nursing) and associate degrees in medical technology, surgical technology and respiratory therapy. The first programs to be offered under the new agreement will be a licensed practical nurse to associate degree and an associate degree to bachelor's degree in nursing that will begin in fall 2006. These programs are open to high school students through the Greentree Health Science Academy, to employees of Middletown Regional Hospital and to the public at large.

In order to offer these programs, Miami University estimates that it will add eight new faculty members and one staff employee over the next three years. Miami's Middletown campus should experience a 16 percent increase in student enrollment, as a result.