Niagara University and the Catholic Health System on Thursday announced a partnership that will provide work experience for MBA students and the opportunity for ongoing education for registered nurses working for Catholic Health.

Starting in the fall semester, individuals in Niagara’s MBA program in the university’s new health care administration concentration will be able to get field placements and mentorship opportunities, university and Catholic Health officials said.

Graduate students also will have the opportunity to join volunteers on medical missions to Jamaica under the auspices of Catholic Health’s parent organization, Catholic Health East’s Global Health Ministry.

In addition, starting in January, qualified nurses working for Catholic Health will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing from NU in 30 months.

Some nursing classes will be held at Catholic Health’s Education Center at the Appletree Business Park in Cheektowaga, while others will be held on the university’s Lewiston campus.

“We are extremely excited about this partnership on two levels,” Peggy Choong, director of the MBA pro-gram, said in a statement. “The first is that Catholic Health and Niagara have a congruence of mission that embraces the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul. The second is that this new concentration in health care administration in the MBA program fulfills a need in the market place.”

Catholic Health will cover the cost of tuition and books, and provide a laptop computer for each nurse enrolled in the program. In exchange, the nurses agree to remain employed within Catholic Health for three years after earning their bachelor’s degrees.

Catholic Health operates Mercy, Kenmore Mercy and Sisters hospitals, as well as the St. Joseph campus of Sisters.

For more information about the MBA program, call 286-8051 or e-mail

mba@niagara.edu

. For information about the nursing program call 286-8155 or visit

www.niagara.edu/nursing

.