KC STEM Alliance, UMKC earn $2.5M grant
September 29, 2015 | Bobby Burch
A multi-million dollar grant will aim to boost diversity in Kansas City’s healthcare workforce.
KC STEM Alliance and the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies recently received a $2.5 million grant. The funds will create KC HealthTracks to introduce more low-income and minority students to healthcare careers. KC STEM Alliance works to bolster area science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
“This is an incredible opportunity to help students think beyond traditional entry-level jobs in healthcare and develop a pipeline of academically ready students who can diversify our healthcare workforce,” Laura Loyacono, executive director of KC STEM Alliance, said in a release.
The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, assists students in 11 high schools from seven Kansas City-area school districts preparing for college and careers in biomedical sciences. Students in the KC HealthTracks program will have access to improved STEM curriculum, mentors, college campus visits, extensive lab experiences, tutoring and ACT preparation.
Featured Business

2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Hyde Park coffee space reopens with family vibe fitting historic neighborhood’s roots, owners say
A newly opened neighborhood coffee shop in Hyde Park hopes to bring a fresh, family-friendly vibe to Kansas City’s bustling coffee scene, its owners said. “We created 1888 Coffee to be something different — not just another café, but a welcoming hub for our community,” said Christine Kehoe, co-owner and operator of 1888 Coffee with…
Topeka recruited dozens of Filipino teachers for local classrooms; at year’s end, the district hopes they’ll stay
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. TOPEKA — Although international educators are not new to the state’s capital city, Topeka welcomed about 50 teachers from the Philippines this past school year to address shortages within the…
Startup ideas are here, but does Kansas have the risk capital to get them to the next level?
Eight early-stage Kansas entrepreneurs sat across from Midwest-based investors this week at Aspiria NOW in Overland Park, engaging in rapid-fire, “speed dating” style meetings aimed at moving their ventures closer to real investment. “We’re seeing just a great inflow of companies, especially at the early stage, come in just high levels of sophistication and awareness…
‘Buy, buy, buy while we can’: This KC toy store is stockpiling Christmas gifts now as tariff reality unwraps
Brett Goodwin and Alan Tipton are feeling even more thankful right now for the large, dry basement at The Learning Tree — the independent toy store they own in Prairie Village — amid worries over tariffs on Chinese imports and how they’ll impact prices from toy manufacturers. The best they can do to prepare: stockpile…
