Upskill NWA simplifies process to boost health care workforce
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
A program seeking to help people pursuing degrees in health care is trying to streamline its process for even more success, its president told Axios.
Why it matters: Graduates of Upskill NWA, a program under the nonprofit Excellerate Foundation, see an average increase of $33,000 in their annual household income, according to Upskill. The program is also helping fill much-needed health care jobs in the region.
State of play: Upskill NWA, which started up in late 2021, will have deadlines a few months before classes start. This is a change from accepting applicants at any time and gives Upskill time to prepare students, some of whom have never attended college, president Carol Silva Moralez told Axios.
- Participants' education costs are entirely covered and they are eligible for stipends. Besides affording school, the most common barriers the students have are child care, housing and transportation. Upskill works to connect them to community resources to address these needs, Moralez said.
- Applications for the spring 2026 semester are open until Oct. 15.
What they're saying: "We're looking for that participant who cannot go to school if it wasn't for Upskill," Moralez said.
The big picture: Health care and community leaders in Northwest Arkansas have sought to make the region a health care hub since at least since 2019, when a report commissioned by the Northwest Arkansas Council found the region was missing out on about $1 billion a year because of people leaving the area for health care.
- The region's health care industry is growing with a new medical school, hospital expansions, more medical residency slots and a 30-year agreement between the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Mercy and Heartland Whole Health Institute to build new facilities and recruit doctors.
- So we're going to need plenty of nurses and other health care workers.
How it works: Upskill NWA takes students earning less than 80% of the area median income who want to go into professions like nursing, surgical technology or radiologic imaging. The students are typically 24 or older.
- The program, along with the Walton Family Foundation, pays for their education with health care employers who intend to hire them covering a third of the cost. The state is also contributing about 10%, Moralez said.
- The most common path is NorthWest Arkansas Community College's registered nursing program, she said.
By the numbers: Since November 2021, 373 people have been accepted into the program, which has an 88% graduation rate.
- Upskill NWA is taking about 100 participants a year. The total cost is about $2.5 million annually.
What's next: Upskill NWA has no formal plans for expanding its model past health care, but is open to applying the model to other fields in the future, Moralez said.