ORGANIZATION
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
YEARS
2004 – 2008
IMPROVING HEALTH POLICY AND EDUCATION
Building Health Care Capacity: Nurses for Rural Areas
Building Health Care Capacity: Nurses for Rural Areas
America’s nursing shortage has been compared to a perfect storm gathering in intensity. In just over a decade nearly 80 million baby boomers will be in or reaching retirement, their medical needs placing an immense strain on our health care system. Nurses themselves, whose average age now is 47, will be leaving the profession and a younger generation of nurses will not be trained in enough numbers to fill the growing needs of hospitals and patients. Graduates from MS’s schools of nursing have declined, the registered nurse turnover rate in the state is significantly higher than the national average and hospital vacancy rates have doubled. The nursing shortage is threatening access to quality health care throughout Mississippi and especially in rural communities.
The Bower Foundation assisted the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College with expanding nursing education to rural areas by providing funding to develop and operate an Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program at its Perkinston Campus. The ADN program received full accreditation in April 2006 and the first graduation class was 23 students in May 2006. In May 2007, 14 students graduated from the program. Professional development education opportunities and community-based educational programs are also offered to impact retention of the nursing workplace. After the provision of assistance with start up funding from the foundation, tuition and other funding sustains the continued operations of the program.
The Building Health Care Capacity: Nurses for Rural Areas Program has increased opportunities for the rural population to participate in the nursing professions. Anchoring students to their local communities has resulted in more nurses available to work in rural health care.
The Bower Foundation assisted the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College with expanding nursing education to rural areas by providing funding to develop and operate an Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program at its Perkinston Campus. The ADN program received full accreditation in April 2006 and the first graduation class was 23 students in May 2006. In May 2007, 14 students graduated from the program. Professional development education opportunities and community-based educational programs are also offered to impact retention of the nursing workplace. After the provision of assistance with start up funding from the foundation, tuition and other funding sustains the continued operations of the program.
The Building Health Care Capacity: Nurses for Rural Areas Program has increased opportunities for the rural population to participate in the nursing professions. Anchoring students to their local communities has resulted in more nurses available to work in rural health care.