Collaboration between a regional health center and area colleges will funnel grant money to programs to increase the number of qualified nursing professionals in an effort to contend with a growing shortage in medical professionals.
A $500,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has been approved which aims to address a nurse shortage in the region. Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC) is partnering with Pikeville Medical Center (PMC), collaborating on Project HEART (Healthcare Employment Around Resource Training). Project HEART is a regional program designed to alleviate a growing shortage of nurses. The grant will allow PMC to provide funding to multiple regional colleges to increase the number of spaces in nursing programs and will also fund the creation of a new learning center on the PMC campus.
Across the country, many regions are bracing for an expected shortage of trained nurses, and in some communities, medical centers are already seeing a drop in qualified applicants for nursing positions. In a recent article published by the Appalachian News Express, PMC CEO Donovan Blackburn said of the shortage and the grant, "Projections are that our nation will be facing a huge nursing shortage as early as 2024. However, Pikeville Medical Center is already finding it challenging to fill the nursing vacancies we have now. With this funding, we will be able to help local nursing schools double and even triple their enrollment within the next two years. We are extremely thankful."
BSCTC is eager to partner with PMC to address this problem and is taking steps to do so. Plans are to increase admission to both the RN and CNA programs. Graduates will increase the flow of qualified professionals in the human resource pipeline in Eastern Kentucky. The increase in students will require an expansion of hands-on training facilities. To that end, PMC has designated space in one of its properties for a new education center.
Construction is scheduled to be completed by December 2020, with equipment expected to be installed and available by the start of the Spring 2021 semester. The added space will allow an additional 50 nursing students from BSCTC, with a goal of increasing enrollment by 100 nursing students in the coming years.