State grant set to expand CSUB nursing program
Bakersfield Californian 2/22/07
The money will go toward funding one full-time teaching position for two years, including benefits, said Peggy Leapley, department chairwoman of nursing at CSUB.
With this position, the school can accept 10 more students a year, bringing the total students in the program to 100.
"It's wonderful that the state is providing opportunities for us to expand," Leapley said. "For those 10 students, it saves them waiting another year to be admitted or not even being admitted at all."
Like most of the country, Bakersfield is suffering from a nursing shortage, she said.
The problem isn't finding the students. Last year, the school had 30 to 40 students on a waiting list to get into Leapley's program, she said.
The issue is finding instructors and money.
"There are a lot more people interested in nursing right now, and we can't meet the demand," she said.
The funds were administered by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development through the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission, according to a news release from the governor's office. Sixteen nursing programs were awarded funds.
"As we focus on reforming California's broken health care system, we must ensure that we have the workforce to meet the growing demand for nurses," Schwarzenegger said in the release. "Our goal is to increase nursing school opportunities, particularly in medically underserved communities, and improve the training of nurses so they can provide the highest quality of care."