GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — New scholarships are now available for Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) students who wish to study phlebotomy.
Versiti, which supplies life-saving blood for medical procedures in Michigan and four other Midwestern states, is funding the GRCC scholarship program.
There will be four Versiti Phlebotomy Skills Scholarships awarded annually, which will cover tuition for GRCC’s Phlebotomy Skills program.
“Community partners like Versiti are critical to GRCC’s role of providing people with opportunities for higher education and skills training,” Dr. Kathryn Mullins, vice president of College Advancement and executive director of the Grand Rapids Community College Foundation said.
GRCC’s 10-week Phlebotomy Skills program is presented in a hybrid format, with lectures online and smaller groups of students meeting in person on the downtown campus for labs and demonstrations.
The first two scholarships have already been awarded for the latest session of the phlebotomy program.
The Versiti Phlebotomy Skills Scholarships is the first of its kind in Michigan, but Versiti does offer a similar scholarship in Wisconsin.
“Versiti is committed to building ethnic diversity within the donor population,” said Hannah Tuuri, Versiti Inc.’s talent acquisition specialist. “The scholarship is designed to help us develop diversity within our industry and teams to ensure that we reflect the population in which we serve.”
Phlebotomy is a career that is in high demand, with projected growth of about 21% each year.
“This is a skill-building course,” said Linda Witte, program developer for GRCC’s health certificate programs. “About half of the people who come into this class are already working in health care, and the other half are looking for that entry-level job.”
Learn more about the Versiti Phlebotomy Skills Scholarship and the GRCC Phlebotomy Skills program here.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
