Austin, TX – Just when you thought the nursing shortage couldn’t get any worse, a recent report estimates that there are more than 126,000 unfilled nursing positions nationwide. In an effort to alleviate this situation locally, SETON Healthcare Network and St. David’s Healthcare Partnership are funneling almost three quarters of a million dollars to expand Austin Community College’s nursing program.

“One key factor in addressing the nursing shortage is ensuring that there are an adequate number of nursing faculty in our nursing education programs,” said Jon Foster, president and CEO of the six-hospital St. David’s Healthcare Partnership. “In the state of Texas, there are thousands of individuals annually who apply to college nursing programs that are not accepted due to a lack of nursing faculty. With this $750,000 commitment, we are enabling ACC to add faculty, thereby increasing the number of nursing professionals entering the local workforce.”

From 2002 to 2006, SETON’s and St. David’s contributions will allow ACC to accept 20 new additional students each fall semester in its associate degree nursing program. This will allow ACC to meet its goal of accepting 100 nursing students each fall.

SETON and St. David’s will pay for the salary and benefits for two full-time ACC nursing instructors, operating expenses, weekend clinical instruction, nursing lab equipment, and professional development.

“Community colleges are key providers of nurses in the United States,” said Dr. Patricia Hayes, interim president and CEO of SETON. “We are relying on ACC’s nursing program to supply a major source of qualified nurses in Central Texas. This funding is a significant step in building a strong nursing workforce in Austin.”

President Bush acknowledged this national crisis recently by signing The Nurse Reinvestment Act into law, which Congress passed last month. The act authorizes millions in funding for continuing education grants; recruitment and training; and scholarships, loans and stipends to attract young people to the profession and to encourage nursing faculty development.
In Travis County alone, the Texas Workforce Commission projects that 220 new registered nursing positions will be created each year until 2008. Texas ranks third lowest nationally in the number of nurses per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“We are grateful for SETON’s and St. David’s generosity, and applaud their commitment to helping ACC boost its enrollment and still provide quality nursing instruction,” said Dr. Richard Fonté, president of Austin Community College. “This partnership exemplifies how ACC’s continued collaboration with industry benefits the community at large by addressing this critical need.”