Breaking News
Business

Justice: $20M coming to nursing expansion initiative

Governor visits WVUP to make announcement

By Evan Bevins 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- An effort to bolster the state's nursing ranks with an infusion of funding to higher education institutions will continue, Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

In the College Activity Center, before an audience that included dozens of nursing students and faculty members, Justice said the state's recently approved budget includes $20 million to continue the Nursing Workforce Expansion Program launched in December 2021.

"Hospitals had bed after bed after bed and no way to staff it," Justice said. "We committed $48 million to aggressively address West Virginia's nursing shortage."

The original money came from the federal C.A.R.E.S. Act and included $26 million dedicated to further developing nursing education programs, by addressing infrastructure needs and acquiring equipment like some of the high-tech simulators on display in the activity center for Justice's visit.

"You can't train somebody to run heavy construction equipment with just a pickup truck," he said while speaking with reporters after the presentation.

The program helped add 810 new nursing students across the state, according to a release from the governor's office.

"Not only have we done, but we're going to continue to do," Justice said. "And that's what makes the wheel turn."

Joining Justice at the event was state Higher Education Chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker. In addition to infrastructure and equipment, schools also had to hire new faculty and needed funding to make the pay appealing since instructors make less than they would working in the field, she said.

"The continuation of that money will allow us to continue to support that faculty," Tucker said.

Some money from this round will also go to scholarships, including one that benefits people who commit to staying in West Virginia after completing their education, she said.

The nursing program and faculty at WVU-P were praised by Sydney Tennant, a registered nurse who graduated in May 2022 with her associate's degree and is pursuing a bachelor's in nursing while working at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center.

"West Virginia University Parkersburg allowed me to pursue my nursing education while staying close to home," she said. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, "I felt prepared to put those clinical skills into practice."

Justice and those in attendance also celebrated WVU-P's partnership with Chemours, through which employees can earn an associate's degree in one of three categories while working at the plant. It's a model the governor said can be replicated with other employers and institutions.

"All we had to do was get the playbook and then run the play," he said. "Now we've got to spread that all over the state."

There are 97 Chemours employees in the first cohort of the program, with a goal of helping 300 further their education, said Todd Fox, venture leader at Chemours.

"It helps with future sustainability for the plant, future employees and the community," said Dave Smith, an operator at Chemours who is one of the initial program participants.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

Starting at /week.