Cleveland-based University Hospitals and Kent (Ohio) State University revealed Feb. 5 they are teaming up on an initiative to address Northeast Ohio's nursing shortage.
The nursing education initiative will focus on boosting the number of nurses with bachelor's degrees who enter the workforce annually, both parties said in a news release.
It involves introducing another cohort of 80 students in Kent State's BSN program to be admitted annually. Of those 80 students, 20 will be chosen to receive financial assistance through the University Hospitals Nursing Scholars program for their senior year at Kent State, according to the health system and university. In exchange, those 20 students will agree to work at UH for at least two years after graduation.
As part of the initiative, Kent State also plans to have experienced University Hospitals nurses serve as clinical instructors. Additionally, the health system plans to offer additional clinical rotations for Kent State nursing students.
The education initiative comes as the Nursing Forecaster of the Center for Health Affairs projects that Northeast Ohio will have a shortage of 2,850 registered nurses by 2020.
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