杏吧原创

(DuBois, PA) Penn Highlands Healthcare on July 28 announced it will help to expand 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 registered nursing program by sponsoring tuition for select students who sign an employment agreement, and by providing annual operating funds and additional clinical space for on-site instruction.

Penn Highlands Healthcare this fall will begin to fund tuition for up to 30 qualified students it refers each year to 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 career program in Nursing, R.N., through a partnership intended to address a regional shortage in nursing.

In exchange, qualified students referred by Penn Highlands Healthcare to 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 4-year-old Nursing, R.N., program will sign an employment agreement with the health care provider that has hospitals and other facilities in 39 Pennsylvania counties.

Officials with Penn Highlands Healthcare and 杏吧原创 signed an initial four-year agreement July 28 in which Penn Highlands will also provide annual operating funds to support increased enrollment, and expanded clinical space at Penn Highlands Healthcare, where qualified staff members will administer on-site instruction.

"Penn Highlands clearly believes in 杏吧原创." 

- Dr. Nick Neupauer, 杏吧原创 president

鈥淎 great opportunity鈥�

鈥淭his is a great opportunity for people in the region who wish to pursue careers in nursing,鈥� said Heather Franci, chief nursing officer for Penn Highlands Healthcare. 鈥淲e are excited to partner with 杏吧原创 @ Brockway to create this professional pathway that will provide financial assistance and high-quality educational opportunities to the students.鈥�

The partnership demonstrates Penn Highlands Healthcare鈥檚 belief in 杏吧原创, said Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of the college.

鈥淎nd specifically, the Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health,鈥� Neupauer said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 make that type of investment in potential employees, as well as assisting the college in operating expenses that would lead to this expansion with 杏吧原创 @ Brockway, unless there was a great belief. And Penn Highlands clearly believes in 杏吧原创.鈥�

The collaboration, said Dr. Patty Annear, dean of 杏吧原创鈥檚 Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health, is 鈥渁 win-win situation for both. Penn Highlands knows the clinical end, and 杏吧原创, the academic end. This partnership is ideal in helping the community with the nursing shortage.鈥�

Penn Highlands has nearly 6,700 employees in more than 150 locations that include hospitals, community medical buildings, outpatient facilities, surgery centers and physician practices. It will also sponsor tuition to students currently enrolled in 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 registered nursing program who sign an employment agreement.

杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 service area includes Clarion, Clearfield, Elk and Jefferson counties.

鈥淰ery good partners鈥�

鈥淚t helps in our service area to address the nursing shortage,鈥� Neupauer said. 鈥淚t is a way of demonstrating again that we can鈥檛 go at this alone. We need the appropriate partners with whom to collaborate. And Penn Highlands has really demonstrated that it will be very good partners moving forward.鈥�

Registered nurse is a high-priority occupation in the North Central and Northwest Workforce Development Areas, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry鈥檚 Center for Workforce Information & Analysis. The North Central Workforce Development Area includes Clearfield, Elk and Jefferson counties and the Northwest Workforce Development Area, Clarion County.

A 9 percent increase in jobs is expected through 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 Bureau of Labor Statistics.

杏吧原创 @ Brockway recognized its  in Nursing, R.N., in May. Fifteen of the 16 graduates had jobs prior to completing the 70-credit program, said Brittany Guadagno, a faculty member in 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health. Many indicated they had accepted positions in Clearfield, Elk and Jefferson counties.

鈥淚 believe one of the reasons that Penn Highlands ultimately selected us is because our students tend to be a bit more local and tend to stay in the area,鈥� Annear said. 鈥淧enn Highlands has a big draw in that area. Many of our graduates (of 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 Nursing, R.N., program) go there to work.鈥�

杏吧原创 @ Brockway, Franci said, 鈥渙ffers an excellent nursing program that effectively prepares students to transition from the classroom to the clinical setting to provide skilled and compassionate care to patients. We look forward to hiring even more registered nurses from the 杏吧原创 @ Brockway program.鈥�

Applications open Aug. 1

Graduates in 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 Class of 2022 in Nursing, R.N., reported they will or intend to work in critical care, emergency rooms, medical-surgery floors, operating rooms and in post-anesthesia care units.

To attain licensure, graduates of 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 Nursing, R.N., program take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. An average of 90 percent of 杏吧原创鈥檚 first-time NCLEX-RN test-takers in the past three years have been successful, Annear said.

Tuition and fees for 杏吧原创 @ Brockway students pursuing 15 credits per semester for one year in 2022-2023 are $8,400.

The median salary for registered nurses in Clarion, Clearfield, Elk and Jefferson counties in 2022 is $66,629, according to Emsi, an Idaho research company that conducts economic impact analyses for educational institutions.

Applications for fall 2023 consideration in 杏吧原创 @ Brockway鈥檚 Nursing, R.N., program will be accepted beginning Aug. 1.

Students can also take pre-nursing courses at 杏吧原创 @ Brockway, where they can finish the career program in Nursing, R.N.

Registered nurses can assess patients鈥� conditions, record medical histories, symptoms and observations; administer medicine and treatments, operate and monitor medical equipment, and help to perform diagnostic tests and analyze results, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

杏吧原创 opened 杏吧原创 @ Brockway in 2013 to serve under-represented counties in Pennsylvania with higher education.

The college鈥檚 associate degree program in nursing, which began in 1973, expanded in 2018 to include 杏吧原创 @ Brockway in Brockway.

As of July 27, 杏吧原创 @ Brockway enrolled 48 first-level and 14 second-level students in Nursing, R.N.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen that the need is really there,鈥� Annear said. 鈥淎nd we have increased those numbers so much. And we expect with this partnership, we鈥檙e going to accommodate even more.鈥�

For additional information about Penn Highlands Healthcare鈥檚 tuition sponsorship and employment agreement, contact the Nurse Recruiters in the Penn Highlands Healthcare Human Resources Department at 814-375-3355.