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Nurse Education
Grants

Edison Community College
AWARD AMOUNT: $1,986,371
AREA SERVED: Fort Myers and the Counties of Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Hendry, Glades
INDUSTRY: Healthcare

KEY PARTNERS AND LEVERAGED RESOURCES: $415,089 in leveraged resources from seven employer partners, one workforce partner, five education partners and two other partners

CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS: There is a critical shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) in Southwest Florida. The college does not have the funding to maintain and expand the Registered Nurse program that was initially expanded and supported by private and public funds in 2004.

ACTIVITIES: Edison College will secure additional clinical space in local hospitals, recruit additional faculty and staff members, receive an allocation for furnished classrooms and labs, and recruit and enroll students to maintain the expansion of 144 nursing seats established in 2004 by private local partners and add a second expansion of 36 seats for nursing students. Practical Nurses graduating from county vocational-technical schools operated by the school district partners may enter the LPN-RN bridge programs with advanced placement. Graduates of the two-year Associate Degree in Nursing program can transfer into a four-year BSN program. Clinical instruction will take place during the evenings and weekends allowing non-traditional students to pursue their nursing degree.

PROJECTED OUTCOMES:

  • 180 additional students will enroll each year;
  • 85% of students will be retained in the program each year;
  • 80% of students will pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) the first time (producing 122 RNs within six months of their graduation date);
  • 95% of the graduates will become employed within three months of receiving their license;
  • 90% of the employed graduates will be retained by their employer; and
  • 75% of the employed graduates will receive an earnings increase within six months.

Pensacola Junior College
AWARD AMOUNT: $1,329,145
AREA SERVED: Pensacola metro area, Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, Florida
INDUSTRY: Healthcare

KEY PARTNERS AND LEVERAGED RESOURCES: $6,315,893 in leveraged resources from three employer partners, two workforce partners, four education partners and four other partners

CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS: The Agency for Workforce Innovation estimates that an additional 878 Registered Nurses (RNs) will be needed in the region between 2004 and 2012, an increase of 3% per year. Supply in the area is not expected to meet this demand. According to a 2005 survey by the Florida Hospital Association, northwest Florida leads the state in both nursing vacancies and turnover rates in hospitals. Nursing and residential care facilities, ambulatory health care services and hospitals also rank among the top 20 fastest-growing industries in the region. A shortage of students interested in nursing professions is not the problem. The Pensacola Junior College Nursing Department seeks to implement a wider range of learning strategies and offer a broader, more tightly integrated set of tutorial and practice activities, both focused on improving student persistence to graduation.

ACTIVITIES: This project focuses on serving new populations and significantly increasing the number of program graduates by increasing student retention. Specifically, the project seeks to improve curriculum design with enhanced and expanded curriculum delivery options, increase the number of qualified faculty through expanded opportunities for development, create enrollment opportunities for new populations, and meet industry-driven need for advanced certification of registered nursing professionals. New populations will be served by adding two options to the revised Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) curriculum: 1) evening/weekend track; and 2) enhanced Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) to Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) track and new Paramedic to ADN track.

PROJECTED OUTCOMES:

  • 24 teaching plans will be developed for using human patient simulation and case studies as a strategy to teach learning outcomes in 6 ADN core courses;
  • The new Paramedic to ADN and Evening/Weekend options will enroll 165 additional students and the new CNA-LPN option will enroll 60 students;
  • The number of ADN graduates from nontraditional populations will increase 40%;
  • For ADN students, 85% will graduate with an Associate Degree in Nursing; 90% will pass the state licensure exam; and 98% of the graduates passing licensure exam will either enter the workforce or continue their nursing education; and
  • For LPN students, 70% will graduate and receive a Vocational Certificate in Practical Nursing, 85% will pass the state licensure exam; and 95% of graduates passing licensure exam will either enter the workforce or continue their nursing education.

Santa Fe Community College
AWARD AMOUNT: $1,072,339
AREA SERVED: Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy and Marion Counties
INDUSTRY: Healthcare

KEY PARTNERS AND LEVERAGED RESOURCES: $9,396,880 in leveraged resources from eight employer partners, four workforce partners and eleven education partners

CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS: Rural healthcare providers in Florida are unable to meet their allied healthcare workforce needs. In response, a regional partnership of industry, education, and other rural alliance partners recommended expanding capacity at the community college and implementing recruitment and training strategies to ensure a pipeline of well-trained healthcare workers.

ACTIVITIES: Under this grant, Santa Fe Community College will increase the space available for classrooms and laboratories for health care programs and equip the space with state-of-the-art equipment and curriculum including human body simulators and simulated hospital and operating rooms. The project will also reduce the shortage of faculty for health care programs, increase public awareness of health care careers and training opportunities, and provide support services for students. Training strategies include: providing opportunities to secondary school faculty, students, parents, and One-Stop Career Center participants; modifying curricula to include the use of the new state-of-the-art equipment and simulation technology; emphasizing problem-based learning; and increasing the cultural competency of students. The project will directly impact the following healthcare programs: cardiovascular technology, dental assisting, dental hygiene, diagnostic medical sonography, emergency medical technician, paramedic, practical nursing, nuclear medicine technology, radiologic technology, nursing, respiratory therapy, and surgical technology.

PROJECTED OUTCOMES:

  • 6,873 individuals will participate in grant activities;
  • Increase the number of qualified applicants for healthcare training by 12%;
  • Increase new enrollments from 511 to 577 students; and
  • Increase the number of healthcare professionals completing continuation education courses to 1,145, a 15% increase.

St. Petersburg College
AWARD AMOUNT: $1,653,765
AREA SERVED: Pinellas County, Florida
INDUSTRY: Healthcare

KEY PARTNERS AND LEVERAGED RESOURCES: $1,163,629 in leveraged resources from four employer partners, an education partner and a workforce partner

CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS: Florida has a shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs), and the nursing schools face a severe shortage of nursing faculty.

ACTIVITIES: WorkNet Pinellas will help St. Petersburg College (SPC) attract Registered Nursing candidates from underserved populations, including minorities, veterans, and immigrants and will provide up to 20 scholarships for individuals meeting Workforce Investment Act criteria. The Pinellas County School System will help SPC expand the pipeline of youth entering healthcare careers by promoting a Summer Nursing Academy offered by SPC. Students will receive hands-on experience in clinical settings and laboratory settings as well as job shadowing opportunities. High school student participants in the Academy will receive college credit at SPC. Advanced technology-based teaching modalities such as online instruction and simulators will be used to educate up to 48 incumbent nurses and provide Critical Care Certifications to 100 RNs. SPC will increase the supply of nurse faculty and nurse managers by providing scholarships to associate degree RNs that return to school to acquire MSN. degrees.

PROJECTED OUTCOMES:

  • At least 288 individuals will be impacted by this project;
  • Four MSN scholarship students will return to SPC to teach for one year or more;
  • WorkNet Pinellas will help SPC attract 48 A.S. degree candidates wanting to become RNs;
  • 20 WorkNet-supported candidates will be admitted to the program and receive training at industry sites;
  • 90% of WorkNet enrollees will complete the program, pass the licensure exam on the first try, and be retained six months by employers;
  • 100 RNs will earn the Critical Care Certificate, 90% will increase earning capacity because of the Critical Care Certificate, and 80% will be retained.

Valencia Community College
AWARD AMOUNT: $1,999,392
AREA SERVED: Orlando, Florida; Orange, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Seminole counties
INDUSTRY: Healthcare

KEY PARTNERS AND LEVERAGED RESOURCES: $1,757,208 in leveraged resources from three employer partners, one workforce partner and seven education partners

CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS: Central Florida has a Registered Nurse (RN) shortage of approximately 868 RNs. The partner community colleges lack the training capacity to address the high demand for RNs in the region. Jointly the colleges identified capacity constraints including: limited clinical simulations to enhance student learning prior to entering the workforce; limited lab and computer equipment and software to support clinical instruction; and limited faculty and curriculum development opportunities to develop faculty skill sets, clinical simulations, and other instructional enhancements to improve student learning.

ACTIVITIES: The project will expand the capacity of Valencia, Seminole, and Lake-Sumter community colleges' RN programs by developing and expanding clinical instruction to include simulation, clinical scenarios and online enhancement courses as well as establish an advanced training track for incumbent workers to advance in their careers. High school students will earn college credits toward nursing degrees through dual enrollment and Tech Prep courses. Faculty members will develop their skills and simulation knowledge through the creation and implementation of a regional Faculty and Curriculum Development Institute and Boot Camp.

PROJECTED OUTCOMES:

  • Development and expansion of clinical simulation equipment and software, online enhancement courses;
  • Expansion of clinical training and simulation training;
  • Development of graduation, test preparation, and remediation training;
  • Development of web-based/online course training;
  • Increase enrollment of RN students at the partner community colleges by 24% and 30% by the end of Year Two and Year Three respectively; Increase RN students' attainment of AS degrees at the partner community colleges by 15% and 19% by the end of Year Two and Year Three respectively;
  • Increase RN program completers who pass the State licensure test at the partner community colleges by 22% and 25% by the end of Year Two and Year Three respectively; and
  • 95% placement of graduates annually.

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