HCA Healthcare has announced a $4.8m commitment to Pepperdine University’s School of Nursing within the College of Health Science in Los Angeles, US.
This initiative is a part of HCA Healthcare’s commitment to help in addressing the national nursing shortage.
Pepperdine’s School of Nursing began operations this year and presently has 68 students enrolled. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degree programmes, including an entry level Master of Science, Clinical Nurse Leader (ELM-CNL) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
Applications for both programmes for late 2026 are open. As part of the curriculum, students will be able to complete clinical rotations at HCA Healthcare’s Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California.
The $4.8m commitment will support the development of Pepperdine University’s new 30,000ft² facility on the Calabasas campus, featuring high-fidelity patient manikins, immersive environments, and clinical simulation laboratories designed to prepare students for real-life healthcare scenarios.
HCA Healthcare has also invested in the wider nursing education sector. Since acquiring Galen College of Nursing in 2020, the college has opened 20 new campuses, bringing the total to 25 across the US. More than 19,000 students are now enrolled, including 4,000 HCA Healthcare employees.
In 2023, HCA Healthcare announced a $34.5m expansion for Research College of Nursing in Kansas City, Missouri, supporting the creation of a new HCA Healthcare Center for Clinical Advancement at Research Medical Center.
The HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Healthier Tomorrow Fund has provided $250,000 in grants to community universities and colleges to help high school students gain early exposure to healthcare careers.
Among the recipients, Pensacola State College received $50,000 for the Nurse Explorer Boot Camp, Miami Dade College was awarded $50,000 for the Care Cadre Nurse Exploration Experience.
HCA Healthcare senior vice-president and chief nurse executive Sammie Mosier said: “We believe that investing in nursing education is vital to the future of healthcare. It is a privilege to support Pepperdine University’s new School of Nursing as they prepare the next generation of caregivers with the tools, confidence and compassion to care for patients and communities.”
In September, HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation announced an additional commitment of $3.9m to the American Heart Association’s Getting to the Heart of Stroke initiative.
