BHSH Grant Program

Two of Michigan’s largest institutions have created what they hope will be a model for the nation in addressing the severe talent shortage in nursing. Leaders from Corewell Health (formerly BHSH System) and Grand Valley have announced an innovative partnership with the creation of the BHSH Spectrum Health West Michigan Nurse Scholar program. This unique partnership will increase the nursing talent pipeline by taking away financial barriers to college and smoothing the educational path to employment at Corewell Health West Michigan. 


How does the BHSH Grant program work?

Apply for and be admitted to the Kirkhof College of Nursing at Grand Valley State University

Apply for the BHSH Grant through GVSU's scholarship database

After graduation, work for 2 continual years within a Corewell Health West Michigan hospital inpatient setting


Earn a Grant
Corewell Health West Michigan Employee
Laker for a Lifetime

Recipients of the BHSH Grant must agree to:

  • Two years of continual full-time employment with Corewell Health West Michigan in a registered nurse capacity within the “Inpatient Setting”
  • Employment in a registered nurse (RN) capacity will commence within sixty (60) days after graduation from GVSU. Recipients will be required to apply, interview and be accepted into an available RN position to begin employment in a Corewell Health West Michigan hospital inpatient setting within sixty (60) days of graduation
  • Repayment of the grant(s) in the form of repayment of a loan to GVSU if failure to complete the program, terminates employment or drops below a 0.9 FTE at Corewell Health West Michigan prior to the end of the two years of service required
  • Maintaining satisfactory academic progress in the traditional or accelerated second degree GVSU nursing program

Quick Facts

  • 24 new 2nd degree students each semester
  • 16 new traditional students each semester
  • It is renewable so the students do not have to reapply each semester
  • Corewell Health provides each nurse scholar with a coach to help them throughout the nursing program as well as their transition to practice within Corewell Health West (CHW)
  • Employment guaranteed at CHW after graduation
  • You are not automatically placed in a position.  Rather, you will have the opportunity to apply for an open position upon graduation per the areas listed within the promissory note
  • If terms of the program are not met, the grant will turn in to an interest free loan that must be repaid to GVSU

Frequently Asked Questions

No, you do not have to file a FAFSA to be eligible for the BHSH Nurse Scholars grant program, although filing a FAFSA is always encouraged as you may be eligible for federal aid.

  • A student in the traditional nursing program will receive 5 semesters of a $4,000 grant, totaling $20,000
  • A student in the second degree nursing program will receive 4 semesters of a $5,000 grant, totaling $20,000

The BHSH Grant will be given to each qualified student who agrees to two years of continual employment in an Corewell Health West Michigan hospital Inpatient Setting (defined as the emergency department, any inpatient nursing unit, surgical services (non-ambulatory sites), endoscopy, radiology and the cardiac catheterization lab) which includes the following: Corewell Health Big Rapids, Corewell Health Continuing Care, Corewell Health Gerber Memorial, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, Corewell Health Hospital Group, Corewell Health Kelsey, Corewell Health Ludington Hospital, Corewell Health Pennock Hospital, Corewell Health Reed City Hospital, Corewell Health Greenville and Corewell Health Zeeland Community Hospital.

The scholar will be employed within a Corewell Health West location. If there is not a position open in your interest area, you can join the new graduate float pool. This will give you flexibility in your employment until a position in your area of interest opens up. During this time in the float pool, you may also discover another area that interests you!

The BHSH Grant will be given to each qualified student who agrees to two years of continual employment in CHW hospital Inpatient Setting which includes the following: Corewell Health Big Rapids, Corewell Health Continuing Care, Corewell Health Gerber Memorial, Corewell Health Hospitals dba Spectrum Health Hospital Group, Corewell Health Kelsey, Corewell Health Ludington Hospital, Corewell Health Pennock Hospital, Corewell Health Reed City Hospital, Corewell Health Greenville, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and Corewell Health Zeeland Community Hospital. Transfer to an entity outside of CHW, including Corewell Health East (Legacy Beaumont) or Corewell Health South (Legacy Lakeland), is a breach of the employment obligation

  • If you are unable to complete your employment obligation for any reason, you can request a temporary leave of absence for completing your employment obligation. You must communicate with Corewell Health to gain approval for a suspension of the employment obligation.
  • If you do not complete your Corewell Health service obligation, the BHSH Grant(s) you received will be converted to loans that you must repay in full. For this reason, it is very important that you fully understand the terms and conditions of the BHSH Grant service obligation before you accept a BHSH Grant.

After GVSU has disbursed BHSH Grant funds to you, you may cancel all or part of the BHSH Grant by notifying GVSU that you want to cancel the grant within 14 days after the start of the semester. If you notify GVSU that you want to cancel all or a portion of a BHSH Grant within this timeframe, you will be expected to repay the BHSH Grant at that time.

Your BHSH Grant would turn in to an interest free loan that would be repaid to GVSU.

If hired into Corewell Health West Michigan as a graduate nurse (GN; pre-licensure), it is expected that the GN will successfully obtain licensure from the State of Michigan and transition into a RN role within 60 days of hire. The GN is removed from the GN role and transitioned to a Nurse Technician (NT) role:

(a) Upon failure of NCLEX within the 60-day period.

(b) At 60 days without completion of NCLEX examination

(c) Failure of the NCLEX two times will result in employment termination and conversion of the grant to a loan.

Yes! We would encourage you to apply for the grant even if you are already a Corewell Health employee.

An element of this program includes the partnership with a coach. The coach is a CHW Registered Nurse (RN) with minimally one year experience. In your first semester, you are partnered with a coach. Your coach will remain the same for the duration of your academic program. Your coach, who you will meet with for 1-2 hours per month, will provide you support throughout your academic program as well as facilitate experiential learning opportunities for you in preparation for your transition in practice at CHW.

Experiential learning opportunities are designed to assist you in your transition into practice. They are not intended to be cumbersome or overwhelming and will require approximately 1 hour of time per month beginning in the second semester of your nursing program. An example includes attending a committee or council meeting (likely virtually) and debriefing on the meeting using a defined debriefing tool.

According to the CHW Nurse Scholars Program criteria, if you are first offered admission into either the KCON Traditional BSN or Accelerated Second Degree BSN program but are granted a deferred start date by the KCON BSN program, you automatically forfeit admission into the CHW Nurse Scholars Program and would need to reapply to the CHW Nurse Scholars Program for the semester when you are starting the KCON BSN program.



Page last modified May 29, 2024