Weslaco / Harlingen / Mission, Texas, April 2025 – Twenty-six Rio Grande Valley students made history on April 12, 2025 as the very first students to graduate from an innovative new nursing education partnership between the Texas School of Health Sciences (TSHS) and Prime Healthcare’s regional hospitals in South Texas.
The students completed a rigorous 18-month, 40-hour-per-week RN program on TSHS’ campus at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, while also completing clinical experiences at Harlingen Medical Center and at Mission Regional Medical Center. The students received an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing degree during their graduation ceremony on April 12 at the Weslaco ISD Performing Arts Center.
The graduates are now eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Nursing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Upon licensure, graduates are guaranteed full-time employment as registered nurses at one of Prime Healthcare’s three regional hospitals – as the program offers a direct pathway from education to a high-paying career in healthcare.
“Texas School of Health Sciences celebrated a defining moment on April 12, as we graduated our inaugural class of nursing students,” said Kyle Hunt, president of Texas School of Health Sciences.
“For all of us, this is more than a graduation,” Mr. Hunt added. “It is the realization of a dream, the fulfilment of a vision we have worked toward for years. It represents a community coming together to create opportunity — and we are proud to honor the first cohort of students in our nation’s history to complete a hospital-based, fully-funded RN degree program in just 18 months, including all prerequisite coursework. None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of our partner, Prime Healthcare.”
Unique to both Texas and the nation, the TSHS–Prime Healthcare program provides students in the Rio Grande Valley with full financial support — covering up-front tuition costs, fees, books, educational supplies, student equipment, information technology facility resources and job procurement, based on students’ post-graduate employment commitment, Mr. Hunt said.
“TSHS and Prime Healthcare remain committed to offering dynamic pathways to education and employment for the next generation of healthcare workers,” he added.
Kathleen Avila, Regional Director for Business Development for Prime Healthcare, said the graduation was also a momentous occasion for the three Prime hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley.
“By investing in the future of healthcare through fully-subsidized tuition for qualified aspiring RNs, our hospitals not only cultivate a skilled and compassionate workforce, but also nurture a healthier society for generations to come,” Ms. Avila added.
The three Prime hospitals – Harlingen Medical Center, Mission Regional Medical Center, and Knapp Medical Center – have been serving their communities for several decades and are highly-rated hospitals for patient quality and patient safety.
The goal of the partnership between Prime Healthcare and the Texas School of Health Sciences is to address the need for additional RNs in the Rio Grande Valley by offering a comprehensive academic program — focused on hands-on learning in the hospital setting — which graduates high-quality nurses who will care for patients in the local area.
The new nursing school previously received approval from the Texas Board of Nursing. The school also received a Certificate of Authority from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Collaborators in this important project for South Texas are the Knapp Community Care Foundation and the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation.
Following the departure of the graduates, a second class of 30 students began classes immediately – on April 14 at the campus in Weslaco.
For more information on the nursing school, please visit www.tshs-rgv.com, call 956-375-2025 or email admissions@tshs-rgv.com.
ABOUT Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation
Prime Healthcare is an award-winning health system operating 51 hospitals and more than 360 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.5 million patient visits annually. It is one of the nation’s leading health systems, with nearly 57,000 employees and physicians. Eighteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a 10 Top and 15 Top Health System by Truven Health Analytics. Its hospitals have been named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 69 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system in the past eight years. To learn more, please visit www.primehealthcare.com.
ABOUT KNAPP MEDICAL CENTER
Knapp Medical Center is an award-winning, not-for-profit hospital in Weslaco, Texas. With 227 beds, the community hospital specializes in emergency care, critical care, obstetrics and gynecology, wound care, cardiology, gastroenterology, surgery, orthopedics, rehabilitation, and interventional radiology. Knapp serves as the only acute care hospital in the Mid-Valley area, as well as Weslaco’s only Level IV Trauma Center, Advanced Primary Stroke Center, Level II Newborn Nursery, and Level II Maternal Care facility. For more information, please call 956-968-8567 or visit www.KnappMed.org.