March 17, 2022 – Alderson Broaddus University, School of Nursing, has been awarded $1,000,000 through West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program. Addressing the state’s nursing shortage through a multifaceted approach to attract, train, and retain nurses in the Mountain State, the award program will fund expansion projects at colleges, universities, schools of nursing, and career technical education centers across West Virginia.
Through Alderson Broaddus’s award, the School of Nursing plans to focus on recruiting and retaining nursing students and qualified nursing faculty to provide the education needed to increase the West Virginia nursing workforce. The investment is expected to support up to 50 new nursing students at Alderson Broaddus University for 2022-2023.
“Not only are we hoping to develop a new program to attract students in our local community directly,” explains Dr. Kim White, Chair, School of Nursing at Alderson Broaddus University, “but also expand our current programs and increase completion rates. This funding will be instrumental in increasing enrollment and retention of current students in the AB School of Nursing. Recruitment and retention of qualified nursing faculty is also a key element. Simply speaking, we cannot educate more nurses without having faculty with the knowledge, skills, and experience to teach the next generation of nurses. This funding is a game-changer and we cannot thank Governor Justice enough nor all those involved in making the Nursing Workforce Expansion Program a reality. This program will provide the necessary pathway to furnish our communities with the nurses they need and deserve”.
The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and Community and Technical College System administer the nursing program expansion awards. Gov. Justice announced Twenty-six funded projects across the state on March 17. Approved projects were required to be focused on increasing enrollment in pre-licensure nursing programs through innovative approaches focused on timely degree completion and licensure for graduates.
“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Justice for providing this historic funding to support the expansion of nursing education programs across West Virginia,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education. “Through these new projects, our postsecondary education community will be better positioned to help shore up West Virginia’s nursing workforce – which, in turn, will help support our nurses working tirelessly on the front lines right now.”
Governor Justice announced the West Virginia Nursing Workforce Expansion Program in December 2021 by dedicating $48 million to support new and expanded initiatives that will train new nurses, fully fund the West Virginia Nursing Scholarship Program, value nurses already practicing in the state, and recruit nurses into West Virginia.
