ECCC, Neshoba General partner for nursing school

East Central Community College (ECCC) and Neshoba General are teaming up to locate a nursing school in Philadelphia by 2026 on the hospital’s campus. 

Dr. Brent Gregory, President of ECCC, shared the news with the Philadelphia Rotary Club last Monday, along with updates on various improvement projects and the college's athletic programs.

The collaborative effort is still in the early phases but will involve site work and construction to transform an existing building across from Neshoba Medical Associates into a classroom space. 

The project is a game-changer for local students since Neshoba County residents have to commute to nursing schools at East Central in Decatur and Meridian Community College and even further to programs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, and Southern Miss in Hattiesburg.

“It’s a much-needed service offering, and we couldn’t be happier about it,” said Lee McCall, chief executive officer at Neshoba General. “It’s a very great opportunity.”

On top of this groundbreaking initiative, ECCC is introducing an innovative Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) evening and weekend program, aptly named "Weekend Warriors," set to start in January 2024. 

The program will be provided at ECCC's Decatur campus, offering a new flexible schedule with classes taking place on Thursday and Friday evenings, as well as Saturdays.

The January start date is a major benefit, as it eliminates the previous issue of students having to wait until the following August if they lacked the necessary prerequisites for the nursing program.

East Central is planning to enroll 60 students at the Neshoba General campus in the first year and scale up to 120 students by the second year, with early talks of extending the evening and weekend classes here as well.

“A lot of the current ECCC nursing students come here to perform clinical training, so we already have a relationship with ECCC in that regard,” McCall said. “Having the nursing program on our campus will put us in constant contact with those students and help us demonstrate our service offerings to them with continuous access to nursing students to recruit from.”

Prospective students can access the application online at www.eccc.edu/ADNapplication. Seating is limited.