A perpetual challenge for many HFMA chapters is how to get more students involved and interested in pursuing a career in healthcare finance. The Central Ohio Chapter (COHFMA) took a new approach in 2020 that definitely caught the attention of area college students. The lure? Scholarship money.
The COHFMA Student Scholarship Program
The program offers tuition assistance to full-time students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in any healthcare management-related profession.
“We try to identify all programs within our area where there might be some student interest — things like health information management, healthcare administration, business and finance — and then contact a professor or chair within that department to ask if they would share our information with their students,” said Kayla Howell, vice president of business development at Revecore and current COHFMA president. “It’s hard to get responses, but we’re continuing to look for ways to find an entry point. We do have a lot of presence at Ohio State, so it’s a little easier to get some of those students involved since there’s already a relationship there.”
Eligible students can apply for two types of funding. The first awards a $1,000 scholarship and a $50 HFMA student membership, and the second covers just the student membership fee. Both are awarded based on academic achievement, demonstration of leadership potential, service activities and technical and communication skills. Volunteers from other COHFMA committees review and score the applications.
Student Leadership Commitee
To be considered for the tuition assistance scholarship, applicants must commit to chair the COHFMA Student Leadership Committee (SLC) for one year and to actively participate on at least one of the Chapter’s other committees. Membership fee recipients also serve on the SLC.
Howell said the SLC is essentially a mini chapter within the Chapter and is responsible for overseeing the development and coordination of all student-related activities. This includes building connections with Central Ohio colleges and universities in order to increase the Chapter’s student membership base, publishing a student-specific newsletter and executing career preparation workshops and networking events. The SLC also collaborates with other COHFMA committees to promote student participation in all Chapter activities.
One such activity is a mentorship program, where professional members are paired with interested student members to aid in their professional development. The pairs meet monthly (or at whatever frequency they prefer) from October through May, when COHFMA hosts a year-end event. The 2024 celebration was held at Top Golf.
“Last year, we had nine mentorship pairings,” said Howell. “This year, we have approximately 15. It’s our most celebrated event!”
Initiative ROI
Today COHFMA has 18 engaged student members — a 350% increase since it launched the initiative in 2020. Howell said the anticipated benefits of the program have come to fruition.
“We thoroughly believed offering academic financial assistance to students would be the key to getting them involved,” said Howell. “Once in, they’d experience the benefit and stick around.”
And that benefits the healthcare industry as well as the Chapter.
“A lot of the students I’ve come across are really passionate about making a difference in healthcare,” said Howell. “If you invest in them, they’ll be sure to invest back.”
