WAYNE – Several area individuals were chosen to participate in the Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP).
According to a release from Wane State College, 48 students have been named for the highly selective Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP) for Fall 2023.
Students selected for the program come from rural Nebraska, know the unique needs of their community and are dedicated and passionate about their home state and its rural health care needs. RHOP represents that commitment and prepares students to return to rural Nebraska and care for its citizens.
Northeast Nebraska recipients include Addisyn Wendte of Dakota City and Casidy Wortman of Creighton for Dental Hygiene; Jaxson Bernecker of Hartington, Ava Borgman of Norfolk, Brogan Foote of Wayne and Paige Kossmann of Battle Creek for Dentistry; Michael Cohee of West Point, MaKenna King of Walthill, Kilee Thorell of Wausa and Mason Timmerman of Norfolk for Medicine; Wyatt Ashburn of Wayne, Paw Eh Htoo of Norfolk, Lily Jessen of Bloomfield and Rebecca Leader of Crofton for Nursing; Lillie Timm of Pender for Occupational Therapy; Ella Broekemeier of Osmond, Garret Buschkamp of Crofton and Ally Drahota of Madison for Pharmacy; Erin Avery of Wayne and Libni Roldan Perez of Norfolk for Physician Assistant as well as Rylie Bonneau of Thurston and Sonja Schultz of Beemer for Radiography.
Dr. Ron Loggins, Dean of the School of Science, Health, and Criminal Justice at Wayne State said, “I’m excited to welcome this class of RHOP students. Our RHOP scholars are among the most academically talented and dedicated students in Nebraska. Wayne State is proud to help prepare them for their careers in health care. At Wayne State, not only do students engage in a rigorous curriculum, but they also benefit from the close advising and mentoring our faculty and staff provide. We are confident that when students graduate from our science programs, they have a solid foundation and are prepared to succeed.”
RHOP’s benefits include a full-tuition scholarship at Wayne State and guaranteed admission to UNMC. RHOP participants pursue their studies at WSC and UNMC, with the amount of time at each institution determined by the program in which they are enrolled. Students who apply for the program must be a rural Nebraska resident.
RHOP participating fields include Dental Hygiene, Dentistry, Medical Lab Science, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy (new since Fall 2022), Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant and Radiography.
Wayne State constantly explores new possibilities for health care partnerships in addition to RHOP to ensure students have a wide variety of fields from which to choose.
Loggins added, “In the last few years, Wayne State created a new pathway to nursing with UNMC, a dual-degree nursing pathway with Creighton, an early admission program with Kansas City University for the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Doctor of Psychology programs, and many others. While the pandemic was raging, Wayne State stayed true to its mission and continued to serve the students of Nebraska. Together with our partners, we designed new, exciting curriculum and program pathways that will prepare students for current and future workforce challenges.”
Learn more about RHOP at www.wsc.edu/rhop and Wayne State nursing programs at www.wsc.edu/nursing-programs
