| Aug.
19, 2005
NMU,
MGHS receive nearly $2 million in state grant money to accelerate
nursing training
Northern
Michigan University’s School of Nursing and Marquette General
Hospital have been awarded nearly $2 million in state grant money
to accelerate the education and graduation of registered and practical
nurses.
Karen MacLachlan, left, assistant administrator
who oversees nursing and patient services at Marquette General
Health System, and Kerri Schuiling, PhD, CNM, professor and associate
dean for nursing education at Northern Michigan University, stand
outside a nursing laboratory classroom on the NMU campus following
the announcement that MGHS and NMU have received a $1,982,431
state grant to accelerate nursing training. Using the grant, made
possible through Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH)
funds, Northern will partner with Marquette General to educate
an additional 20 LPNs and 20 RNs during the two fiscal years of
the grant. Additionally, preceptor training at Marquette General
will be provided to 70 registered nurses who will become clinical
faculty for the accelerated program. One hundred LPN students
would be anticipated to graduate during the funding period. (MGHS
photo)
Governor Jennifer Granholm announced that 13 Michigan universities
and community colleges will receive nearly $17 million in grants
made available with Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH)
funds.
The grants, part of the Governor’s MI
Opportunity Partnership, are expected to train more than 1,200
health professionals, including registered nurses, licensed practical
nurses, clinical nurse faculty and allied health professionals
such as respiratory therapists and pharmacy technicians.
Authored by Kerri D. Schuiling, PhD, CNM, professor & associate
dean for nursing education at Northern Michigan University, the
$1,982,431 grant was awarded to Northern Michigan and Marquette
General. The grant is the second largest of those approved.
“The goal of MI Opportunity Partnership is to get people
working now,” Granholm said. “These grants will enable
our universities and community colleges to meet the demand for
highly-skilled healthcare workers more quickly and help ensure
that people wanting to work in this growing field can get the
training they need.”
Northern will partner with Marquette General to educate an additional
20 LPNs and 20 RNs during the two fiscal years of the grant. Additionally,
preceptor training at Marquette General will be provided to 70
registered nurses who will become clinical faculty for the accelerated
program. One hundred LPN students would be anticipated to graduate
during the funding period.
“There is an acute shortage of nurses and nursing faculty
to teach in nursing education programs. The demand for the nursing
programs at NMU is at an all-time high,” Schuiling said.
“This award enables us to address the shortages in nursing
and nursing faculty by making accelerated training opportunities
available.”
An Upper Peninsula Health Care Roundtable survey — of which
Marquette General and Northern Michigan University are members
— revealed that the top three occupational areas in need
of solutions are registered nurses, licensed practical nurses
and nursing aides/orderlies/attendants. The grant addresses the
need for qualified employees in these critical occupations for
the entire U.P.
“Thanks to collaborative efforts like this with Marquette
General, these grants will help ensure that we’re training
and employing people quickly,” Schuiling said.
According to Schuiling, the program for registered nurses is a
second degree bachelor of science in nursing.
“The program is for those individuals who already have a
degree, have not found work, or have lost their jobs and desire
a degree in nursing,” she explained. “Examples are
teachers who have been laid off. These people will only have to
take nursing course work, which is offered in an accelerated format.”
Karen MacLachlan, MGHS assistant administrator who oversees nursing
and patient services, said the opportunity to increase the nursing
healthcare workforce in the Upper Peninsula bodes well for the
future of health care.
“We are excited about receiving the DSH grant,” MacLachlan
said. “Over the years, Marquette General has enjoyed a tremendous
working relationship with the School
of Nursing at Northern. This will allow us to build on that
collaboration by offering accelerated training opportunities in
nursing.”
The MI Opportunity Partnership specifically targets the healthcare
industry because of the need for skilled workers and the high
number of existing vacancies. According to a recent study released
jointly by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth
and the Michigan Department of Community Health, the state will
need to fill more than 100,000 professional and technical healthcare
jobs in Michigan over the next decade.
Grant funding is expected to have a positive impact on the economy
of the Upper Peninsula since health care comprises one of the
largest categories of employers.
Said DLEG Director David C. Hollister: “Michigan has people
out of work and an industry in need of workers. Thanks to the
MI Opportunity Partnership and these grants, we can match those
needs, meet the growing labor demands of the healthcare industry,
and put people to work without compromising quality.”
A team from the departments of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG)
and Community Health (DCH) reviewed the grant proposals. In total,
21 grants were made to 13 different community colleges and universities.
MI Opportunity Partnership was unveiled in the Governor’s
2005 State of the State address. The program, designed to proactively
steer unemployed workers into high-demand career fields, including
health care, set a goal of matching 30,000 unemployed workers
with jobs by the end of the year.
Nursing
web site at MGHS
For more information on enrollment into the LPN and RN programs
at NMU, call the School of Nursing at 906-227-2834.
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