MCC Associate Degree Nursing Program to join in Bower Foundation Grant
MCC's Associate Degree Nursing Program students and faculty will get a financial helping
hand from a grant
from the Bower Foundation.
Because of a $3.8 million grant from the Bower Foundation, Mississippi community college faculty and students, including those in the Meridian Community College Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) Program, will get a financial helping hand to help answer the call for nurses and nurse educators.
Specifically, the grant will generate critically needed health care administrators and community college nursing educators by providing life-changing graduate education for 64 registered nurses through the RN-to-MSN program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC).
“We are excited to partner with UMMC for the Bower Foundation Grant,” said Dr. Lara Collum, MCC associate vice president of nursing and healthcare education.
Building a Strong Future for Nursing in Mississippi will also spread the UMMC School of Nursing leadership development program statewide and provide online resources for nursing educators in the state’s community colleges.
Dr. Collum explained there were several components of the grant; developing emerging leaders in community college, supporting the Certified Nurse Educator certification for ADN faculty, and advancing the education of educators and leaders in practice.
“The aspect of the grant that will most impact students is the offering of an early entry RN to BSN program option for ADN students,” she said. Noting that the details for this portion of the grant are still being developed, she said if students are granted early entry to the BSN program, they may be able to avoid the competitive admission process to the BSN program once they complete their ADN.
This investment in nursing education will result in more nurses in the state and, for the 64 recipients, a leap forward in their nursing careers, said Dr. Julie Sanford, UMMC dean of the School of Nursing.
“There is a dire need for nurses in Mississippi as well as nationwide,” Sanford said. “This generous grant from the Bower Foundation will provide the education that will put more nursing educators in Mississippi’s community colleges around the state. This grant will be transformational for the state and for the students in this program.”