Seated left to right, Dr. Betty Sue McGarvey, president of Baptist Health Sciences University; Stephen Reynolds, president and CEO of Baptist Memorial Health Care; Dr. Barbara McMillin, president of Blue Mountain College; standing left, Dr. Bill Sobotor, provost of BCHS; and Dr. Sharon Enzor, vice president of Academic Affairs at Blue Mountain College.
Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences and Blue Mountain College recently signed a working agreement that will enable Blue Mountain students to earn dual degrees in the health care field.
With the agreement, BMC students will be able to earn Bachelor of Science degrees in three areas: biology at BMC and Bachelor of Health Science at BCHS; biology at BMC and B.S. in nursing from BCHS; and business administration at BMC with a concentration in health care management at BCHS.
The dual program of biology and health science includes majors in radiation therapy technology, respiratory care, diagnostic medical sonography, nuclear medicine technology, medical radiography and medical laboratory science.
Both the health science and nursing degree programs are 3+2 curriculums where students attend BMC for three years and their final two years at BCHS. Both degrees are awarded at the conclusion of the two years at Baptist. In the Business Administration program, BMC students will complete their final 21 hours at BCHS.
Dr. Barbara Childers McMillin, president of BMC; Dr. BettySue McGarvey, president of BCHS; Stephen Reynolds, president and CEO of Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation; Dr. Sharon Enzor, vice president for academic affairs of BMC; and Dr. Bill Sobotor, provost of BCHS; participated in the signing ceremony. It was noted by both Reynolds and Dr. McMillin that the agreement with BCHS – whose predecessor was the Baptist School of Nursing, opened along with Baptist Memorial Hospital in 1912 – is also historical.
One hundred years ago, brothers Dr. B.G. Lowrey and Dr. W.T. Lowrey, both Blue Mountain College presidents, articulated a vision that ultimately influenced the formation of the Baptist health care system that has now touched the lives of thousands of Mid-Southerners.
That vision will be extended to include new opportunities for Blue Mountain College to partner with BCHS to provide health care education, a venture that will serve to enhance the original mission.
W.T. Lowrey served as president of Baptist Memorial Hospital’s board of trustees from its founding in 1912 until 1943.