PSU gets $500,000 boost for Nursing

The Kansas Board of Regents announced today that the Pittsburg State University Department of Nursing will be the recipient of $502,244 in grants designed to help the state of Kansas address a critical nursing shortage. The PSU grants are part of nearly $3.4 million that the Board of Regents awarded to 20 public higher education institutions across the state. PSU's grant total was the largest awarded.

At PSU, $187,168 was earmarked for four additional full-time nursing faculty members and two part-time faculty members. Another $302,245 was awarded to create a patient simulation and learning resource center. PSU also received $12,831 for four Nurse Educator scholarships.

Department Chairperson Mary Carol Pomatto said the grants offer the university great opportunities.

"This gives us a tremendous opportunity to meet the healthcare and the educational needs of Kansas," Pomatto said. "This will not only allow us to add additional students to the baccalaureate nursing program, but also to add to the online RN-to-BSN program."

The RN-to-BSN program is designed primarily for registered nurses who have received their nursing education through community college programs and need baccalaureate degrees for leadership and administrative opportunities.

Pomatto said patient simulation and learning resource center will be a great benefit not only to students in the Nursing Department, but also to students in other areas such as biology, to students at nearby community colleges, to area healthcare providers and perhaps even to K-12 students.

"This will be a new generation of patient simulation and will make Pittsburg State a leader in this kind of technology," Pomatto said.

The grants will also help PSU add to its master's degree program, which prepares the next generation of nurse educators, Pomatto said.

In a release issued today, the Kansas Board of Regents said the grants came about after the 2005 Legislature, concerned about the shortage of nurses in Kansas, recommended that the board report to the governor and the 2006 Legislature regarding the resources required to increase the capacity of the state’s higher education system to educate registered nurses by 25 percent. The Legislature also requested that the report include a timeline for building the infrastructure necessary to accommodate up to 250 more nursing student admissions annually.

A review committee consisting of representatives from the Kansas Hospital Association, the Kansas Organization of Nurse Leaders, the Kansas State Nurses Association, the Kansas Health Care Association, the Kansas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, and the Kansas Board of Nursing reviewed the Nursing Equipment and Facility Upgrades and the Nursing Faculty Salaries and Supplies grant proposals that were prepared by the universities and community colleges and made award recommendations. The Nurse Educator Scholarships were provided to state universities offering graduate nursing programs. Graduate nursing students accepting these scholarships will commit, upon graduation, to become employed as a nurse educator in a Kansas nursing program.

"These grants represent an exciting first step in a 10-year commitment to addressing the critical nursing shortage facing the state of Kansas. The Legislature must be commended for its commitment to and recognition of this important issue," said Reginald L. Robinson, president and CEO of the Board of Regents. "This program powerfully demonstrates how the state's higher education institutions play a vital workforce development role in Kansas. The board looks forward to addressing this critical issue - an issue that only increases in importance as the state’s population continues to age."

Grants awarded:
• Barton County Community College: $75,271 for the enhancement of the simulation laboratory with several new patient simulators and related equipment (Total: $75,271).

• Butler Community College: $30,844 for two part-time nursing faculty members and additional nursing classroom supplies, and $45,629 for additional nursing laboratory equipment (Total: $76,473).

• Cloud County Community College: $17,210 for three additional part-time clinical nursing faculty members, and $7,950 for ITV equipment that will allow distance education (Total: $25,160).

• Colby Community College: $29,610 for one full-time and one part-time nursing faculty member, and $44,762 for a patient simulator and related instructional equipment (Total: $74,372).

• Dodge City Community College: $9,675 for one part-time nursing faculty member and related instructional supplies (Total: $9,675).

• Emporia State University: $26,400 for one additional full-time nursing faculty member and $75,000 for two patient simulators and related equipment to develop a patient simulator lab (Total: $101,400).

• Fort Hays State University: $100,000 toward facilities renovation to create a new patient simulation center. This institution also received $35,812 for 10 Nurse Educator scholarships (Total: $135,812).

• Fort Scott Community College: $50,250 for renovation of the nursing program's lecture and laboratory spaces (Total: $50,250).

• Garden City Community College: $160,211 for the development of an advanced skills simulation laboratory with patient simulators. This laboratory will be part of a collaborative partnership between Garden City, Dodge City, Colby, and Seward County Community Colleges to increase the capacity of their individual programs to train more nurses for western Kansas (Total: $160,211).

• Hutchinson Community College: $60,000 for patient simulators and related equipment (Total: $60,000).

• Johnson County Community College: $144,200 for five part-time nursing faculty members, and $326,245 for patient simulators and related equipment to expand their simulation laboratory (Total: $470,445).

• Kansas City Kansas Community College: $98,444 for four additional full-time nursing faculty members, and $172,973 for patient simulators and related equipment (Total: $271,417).

• Kansas University Medical Center: $92,578 for two additional full-time nursing faculty members. This institution also received $33,930 for six Nurse Educator scholarships (Total: $126,508).

• Manhattan Area Technical College: $24,789 for one full-time and one three-quarter-time nursing faculty member, and $33,554 for a patient simulator and related equipment (Total: $58,343).

• Neosho County Community College: $96,933 for two full-time and three part-time nursing faculty members, and $130,976 for two patient simulators, three computers and additional simulation support equipment (Total: $227,909).

• North Central Kansas Technical College, Hays Campus: $19,128 for one full-time nursing faculty member, and $199,033 for the construction of an addition to their nursing education facility, as well as several simulation units and related equipment (Total: $218,161).

• Pittsburg State University: $187,168 for four additional full-time nursing faculty members and two part-time faculty members, and $302,245 to create a patient simulation and learning resource center for the nursing department. This institution also received $12,831 for four Nurse Educator scholarships (Total: $502,244).

• Pratt Community College: $66,240 for four and two-tenths full-time equivalent nursing faculty members, and $57,070 for two patient simulators and related equipment (Total: $123,310).

• Washburn University: $103,453 for three and one half additional full-time equivalent nursing faculty members, and several adjunct clinical instructors, and $62,158 for nursing clinical and classroom supplies, equipment, and patient simulator upgrades. This institution also received $40,000 for 17 Nurse Educator scholarships (Total: $205,611).

• Wichita State University: $176,443 for three additional full-time nursing faculty members and six part-time nursing faculty members, and $96,673 for remodeling of a nursing laboratory, classroom renovation, and additional computer and patient simulation equipment. This instituti! on also received $76,681 for fourteen Nurse Educator scholarships (Total: $349,797).

---Pitt State---