Key Players Put Nursing Program on Fast Track
Published Dec 15, 2008
Two hospitals, a community college and a development agency partnered to get a new nursing program off the ground.
Faced with a nursing shortage, two hospitals, Tyler Junior College and the Jacksonville Economic Development Corp. took less than six months to attack the problem.
A new program housed at East Texas Medical Center in Jacksonville accepted its first 40 students in fall 2008, split evenly between tracks for licensed vocational nurses and registered nurses. Tyler Junior College, which has a School of Allied Health, provides instruction, and JEDCO kicked in a $360,000 grant.
“It has been a wonderful project,” says Paul Monagan, the college’s dean of allied health and nursing. “Students are so grateful. This gives people in Rusk and Cherokee counties a chance to get a great career.”
ETMC donated 4,500 square feet of space, and 17 patient rooms were renovated into classrooms, offices and skills labs. Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics is pitching in $225,000 over three years to support the nursing programs, which include courses students need before admission to the RN program.
Funding a nursing program is a bit unusual for the economic development agency but the move made sense, says Darrell Prcin, JEDCO president. “There’s a real lack of local nurses,” he says. “It was the right time and the right deal. Both hospitals saw the true need and they came together.”
Story by Pamela Coyle
Current Weather Conditions In Kilgore, TX (75662)
Clear, and 48 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
