Partnership to provide Sovah employees college education with no personal tuition costs

Averett University and Sovah Health are investing in the regional workforce through a unique partnership to help elevate the educational attainment in the Dan River Region.

Beginning this October when most Averett Online courses begin another cohort, full-time employees of Sovah’s Virginia and North Carolina facilities and practices can enroll in robust offerings through a competitive tuition benefit program resulting in no out-of-pocket tuition to the employee-students.

“Averett hopes to aid in talent recruitment and retention by providing affordable pathways for education leading to career advancement. By partnering with industry to take care of employers’ greatest assets, we are helping to enhance their employee benefits packages and hopefully aiding in talent recruitment and retention,” said Averett President Dr. Tiffany M. Franks. “This is certainly not the first time the hometown university and hometown health system have locked arms for the betterment of this community, and we think this is just the beginning of what we can do when we work together.”

Sovah employees can pursue an array of Averett courses, certifications and degree programs ranging from health-focused disciplines like nursing, healthcare data analytics, or psychology, to areas of study such as business administration and sociology. In addition, Averett is offering Sovah employee dependents a discount of $500 a year for up to four years.

“Sovah Health is thrilled to partner with Averett University on this exciting initiative, which is a targeted investment in our people and, more broadly, in workforce development in this region,” said Sovah Health Market President & Chief Executive Officer Steve Heatherly. “Averett is a critical partner for Sovah and we can’t thank them enough for working with us on this innovative approach to allowing our people to further their education.”

Another facet of the partnership includes some Averett Master of Science in nursing (MSN) students completing their clinical rotations between both Sovah hospital campuses in Danville and Martinsville, Va. and its area clinics.

“I was beyond excited when I learned of the collaboration with Sovah Health and Averett University,” said Sovah Health employee Amber Stone. “I have always wanted to go back to school to further my education, but with my husband’s student loans and having three children who I knew would be going to college soon themselves, I was resolved to the fact that it was not a possibility for me. Thanks to Sovah Health and Averett University, I get to make my dream of going back to school a reality!”