JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington - Twenty-six civilian nurses at Madigan Army Medical Center got help paying for their school loans thanks to the Army's Civilian Nurse Student Loan Repayment Program.
Each nurse can apply for up to a $10,000 loan every three years (with a lifetime loan limit of $60,000), and in return agrees to owe the Army three more years on the job.
"When I heard about that, I said 'Yep, I'm on it,'" said Lactation Consultant Maria Walden, who said she was already planning on staying on at Madigan.
The two-year veteran of the hospital found the loan process an easy one; she had to gather documentation from her lender on her loan balance, show that her loans were in good standing with no prior consolidation, and turn in the application by its deadline.
When Walden found out she was approved for the loan, she felt "ecstatic--you have no idea," she said.
"By paying down your school loans it certainly takes a lot of stress off your family," said Walden, who will use her extra money to pay off her house and invest in property.
Registered Nurse Brittany Menday, who started at Madigan eight years ago as a student nurse, received loans from the program twice; once for $9000 and another time for $7200.
"It was just one other thing that you had to budget out money for, and it's something now I don't think about," said Menday, a pediatric intensive care unit nurse. The loan is paid out during the first year of the three-year commitment, and nurses are responsible to continue any additional school loan payments owed after that.
Menday encourages other nurses to consider the program.
"I really think it's a great program. I really enjoy working at Madigan, so it was a no-brainer for me to apply for this to continue working at Madigan and getting my loans paid off," said Menday, although she cautioned that nurses should consider if they need to move for any reason as the program does require an employee commitment.
Regardless of how much a nurse may get in a loan, the commitment to keep serving as a nurse in the federal system is three years, said Judy Fattor, the administrative officer for Madigan's Inpatient Service Line. The loan program is open to all registered nurses whether they hold an associate, bachelor or master's degree; licensed practical nurses with associate degrees in practical nursing may also apply. Nurses must be full-time employees with at least one federal evaluation to apply.
Although the nurses were notified they were approved for their loans just before the holiday season, the annual timeframe to apply is between May and August of each year. Nurses interested in applying can ask Fattor or Sandy Jones, Madigan's nurse recruiter, for an application. Fattor and Jones also can help explain the nuances of the program and application process.
While the nurses get help paying their student loans, Madigan comes out on top because the hospital gets to retain more quality nurses.
"You get employee satisfaction, and you get quality nurses, because they know that they can go back for their (bachelors of science in nursing) and get it paid for," Fattor said.
Helping nurses to pay off loans while staying at Madigan means being on the receiving end of a lot of happy employees.
"I've had the employees say, 'I love Madigan, I don't plan on going anywhere, but this is one of the benefits that really made me look into the facility'," said Jones. "And they love it… They're just so delighted."
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