The South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) has awarded Clemson University and the University of South Carolina (USC) individual grants in the amount of $25,000 to support the development of a high-quality healthcare workforce. The nursing schools were also offered the potential for two additional years of funding which will be determined based on an annual review.
Clemson’s School of Nursing received a grant of $25,000 from SCHA’s Indigo Enrichment Scholarship for its partnership with the Greenville Health System. The university plans to use the funds to help create interprofessional opportunities in the clinical learning environment.The $25,000 granted to USC went to the health services policy and management department of the Arnold School of Public Health. USC will use the funds to support students in the Master of Health Administration program.
Clemson School of Nursing Director Kathleen Valentine tells Newsstand.Clemson.edu, “We’re grateful for the South Carolina Hospital Association’s support of our efforts to ensure that our graduates are well prepared to work at the top of their license as a registered nurse. Through these funds, students will have increased access to experts in the fields of interprofessional teamwork, continuum of care, population health and community health.”
USC Master of Health Administration program director Bankole Olatosi says, “The SCHA scholarship will help the MHA program as it prepares students for positions to advance the provision of effective, efficient and equitable health services in South Carolina. Our students will benefit from the increased access to professional education available through conferences, meetings, and training to complement their education.”
The South Carolina Hospital Association is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and healthcare systems. The scholarship program is funded by SCHA Solutions, a division of the hospital association that partners with endorsed companies that provide workforce and operational services to state hospitals and health systems.
To learn more about the South Carolina Hospital Association’s $25,000 grants to Clemson University and the University of South Carolina, visit here.
A nutrition pilot was recently launched at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to give nurses support to change their health habits, allowing them to better care for their patients. Nurses often deliver health promotion education to patients, but when it comes to their own health habits, they often don’t take their own advice.
The pilot was prompted by multiple studies showing the need for nurses to implement healthier habits in their own lives. A 2011 study at the University of Maryland School of Nursing found that 55% of 2,103 female nurses surveyed were overweight or obese, while a recent survey of nurses at MUSC found that 75% of MUSC Health nurses reported putting their own health, safety, and wellness behind that of their patients. The MUSC study manifested results showing that nurses struggle with healthy eating, including eating less than the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables.
MUSC’s nutrition pilot helped the organization’s 2,700 nurses improve their healthy eating habits. Over the course of 60 days, the nurses tripled daily consumption of fruits and vegetables. After the pilot, 72% of nurses reported eating three or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
Efforts similar to this pilot have the potential to improve the health of the nursing workforce, as well as the health of patients who look to their healthcare providers for support and advice. Research has found that patients find preventative recommendations from healthcare providers who engage in healthy behaviors to be more credible and motivating
The pilot program was supported by Sodexo, a food and services facilities management company who is partnered with the American Nurses Association’s Healthy Nurse, Healthy NationTM Grand Challenge. The ANA initiative aims to improve the nation’s health by supporting nurses in changing their own health habits.
Bonnie Clipper, DNP, RN, MA, MBA, CENP, FACHE, vice president of Innovation at ANA, stated in a news release: “MUSC Health nurses’ willingness to participate in the pilot and also engage in the planning phase by sharing details about their nutritional habits is the sole reason it was a success. Pilots like this one and other innovative programs that target the nursing workforce are necessary to help create healthy nurses and – ultimately – a healthy nation.”
To learn more about the Medical University of South Carolina’s nutrition pilot to support healthier habits in nurses, visit here.
The building will enable Clemson and GHS to address the critical shortage of nurses in the state, and has already allowed Clemson to increase the size of its freshman nursing class. Clemson’s School of Nursing usually admits a class of 64 freshman each fall, but started this year with a class of 173 freshman.
South Carolina has been one of the states most affected by the shortage of nurses. However, Clemson’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program has seen significant growth in applications over the last ten years. In anticipation of the new building, the university has been bumping up nursing class sizes for two years. Total enrollment in the nursing program will increase from 256 in the fall of 2015 to 704 students as it reaches maximum capacity (when all four classes max out at 176 students).
To learn more about Clemson University’s partnership with Greenville Health System to open a new $31.5 million nursing building to help alleviate the nursing shortage, visit here.
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health) is launching a 60-day nutrition pilot intended to improve the eating habits of working nurses. MUSC Health nurses were hungry for healthier food options so they created a pilot program to give themselves new opportunities to increase their daily consumption of fruits and vegetables and improve their quality of life.
According to the American Nurses Association, the health of the average nurse is worse than that of the average American. A survey conducted at MUSC found that 75 percent of their nurses say they put the health, safety, and wellness of their patients before their own. Due to the demanding shifts and stress associated with nursing, nurses often put their own health and well-being last, especially their nutrition, despite their knowledge about prevention.
The pilot nutrition program offers fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced to-go food items available for quick pick-up at three locations on the MUSC campus. The pilot is supported by Sodexo Healthcare, a food services and facilities management company committed to improving quality of life. They are partnered with the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation Grand Challenge (HNHN), an initiative of ANA Enterprise. MUSC is also an HNHN partner and the first organization selected to participate in an HNHN quality of life program in the US.
Andrea Coyle, MUSC Health Professional Excellence and Magnet Program director and registered nurse tells NursingWorld.org, “Our nurses impact the lives of their patients, colleagues, families, and neighbors every day. We had no reservations when we were approached to spearhead the pilot because the health of our staff is a top-priority. We are honored to work alongside Sodexo and ANA to offer more quality food options on our campus and serve as a model for other organizations.”
The outcomes and results of the MUSC nutrition pilot will be presented this fall. To learn more about the university’s pilot nutrition program to improve nurses’ eating habits, visit here.
The Office for Healthcare Workforce estimates that South Carolina will have a shortage of 6,400 nurses by 2028. Health care leaders in the state are implementing solutions in hospitals and nursing schools to educate more nurses in the state and keep them in their communities.
Rural parts of the state feel the nursing shortage the most so the University of South Carolina’s (USC) satellite campus in rural Allendale County is working with the Columbia campus to allow students to get a four-year nursing degree. The Allendale campus has sought the funds to make nursing students’ education easier by opening a simulation lab funded by BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation.
Students must complete clinical hours to finish their degree but rotations and clinical opportunities in the state are scare, with nursing and medical students often competing for hours. Thanks to USC’s simulation lab, students can complete their clinical hours in a safe environment that offers the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.
The simulation lab is one of several funding efforts by BlueCross BlueShield of SC Foundation to increase number of nurses working in the state. To learn more about USC’s efforts to graduate more nurses and keep them working in their communities, visit here.
The Francis Marion University (FMU) School of Health Sciences recently received a $1.8 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) aimed at promoting nursing workforce diversity. The funding will provide four-year grants to cover tuition support for up to 100 students, in addition to funding initiatives for the nursing department like the BSN program.
The HRSA funded the grant from their workforce diversity program to help increase nursing education opportunities for students from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities. Diversity is slowly increasing in the nursing workforce, but the minority participation currently remains below 20 percent according to SCNow.com.
FMU intends to use the funding to improve the diversity of its nursing student body. This will include financial support, assigning graduate student mentors to freshman students, special freshman-level “university life” courses for pre-nursing students, and academic help through the Center for Academic Success and Achievement. Ruth Wittmann-Price, dean of the School of Health Sciences, tells SCNow.com:
“We’re thrilled to receive another HRSA grant and to continue our role in shaping the nursing workforce in the years to come. Our programs, and our impact on the community, continues to grow. We’re proud of what we’ve done, but the future is really exciting.”
FMU is the only university in South Carolina to receive a grant through the workforce diversity program, and this is the fourth HRSA grant the university has received since 2016. All of the grants have been aimed at improving access to healthcare for the community or access to healthcare education for disadvantaged and underserved populations.
To learn more about FMU’s funding to promote nursing workforce diversity, visit here.
