ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Officials with the Ohio Valley General Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association in Wheeling and Belmont College announced a new partnership that will provide scholarship opportunities for local nursing students.

The scholarship, known as “The Alumni Association of the School of Nursing of the Ohio Valley General Hospital Scholarship,” will be awarded to a second-year, non-traditional student who is enrolled full time at Belmont College in the associate degree nursing program. Eligible students must be strong in both clinical setting and theory.

One $1,000 scholarship per year will be awarded.

According to Karolyn Fox, director of Nursing at Belmont College, “We are grateful to the OVGH Alumni Association for their support of our nursing students and their education. Scholarships such as this one help keep out of pocket tuition expenses manageable for our students.”

The OVGH Alumni Association was founded in the 1980s. According to Ohio County Public Library records, the Ohio Valley General Hospital School of Nursing was closed in 1988, however the alumni association remains active. Initially known as the City Hospital Training School for Nurses, it opened in conjunction with Wheeling’s City Hospital in 1892 and was the first nursing school in West Virginia.

At Belmont College, two nursing programs are maintained: the ADN program and the PN certificate program. These programs are designed to provide an educational opportunity in which students develop a scientific basis of nursing practice and master technical skills. Under direct supervision of qualified instructors, Belmont College nursing students experience patient interactions, in-class lectures, and hospital clinical experiences which all foster caring and empathetic approaches to nursing care.

Furthermore, the College’s Health Sciences Center, the region’s premier health care education facility, is home to all Belmont College Nursing programs. The building features state-of-the-art classrooms and science labs for biology, anatomy and chemistry.

These high-tech spaces enhance the learning environment and provide opportunities for students to nurture collaboration and innovation.

For more information about the nursing programs at Belmont College, visit belmontcollege.edu/nursing or contact Fox at 740-699-3910 or kfox@belmontcollege.edu.