EKU has received a three-year, $620,704 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address the shortage of baccalaureate degree nurses in eastern and southeastern Kentucky.

EKU has partnered with Southeast Community College (SECC) to offer courses in its RN to BSN Degree Completion Program beginning this fall at SECC campuses in Cumberland and Middlesboro.

"Nurses in that area have never before had easy access to a BSN degree," said Dr. Deborah Whitehouse, chair of EKU's Department of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing and co-director of the grant project along with Dr. Judy Short. "As a result, there is a dire shortage of BSN nurses in the area."

At the four hospitals in Harlan, Bell and Letcher counties, only 3 percent of the approximately 300 RNs have baccalaureate degrees.

Many of the RNs in the area earned associate degrees at Southeast or other community colleges in the region, Whitehouse noted, and are excited about the opportunity to further their education.

"Baccalaureate-prepared nurses will greatly benefit this region of the state," said Milton Borntrager, coordinator of SECC's Associate Degree Nursing Program. "The BSN degree will provide nurses with the broad knowledge base needed to work in complex settings.

"The BSN degree will enhance nursing skills in managing patient care in acute care settings, as well as provide leadership skills for nurses in administrative positions," Borntrager added. "The degree will also provide additional opportunities for upward mobility in the profession … and will certainly benefit community and public health nursing."

The program will be delivered via interactive television through the Kentucky Telelinking Network (KTLN) and through supervised clinical experiences in the outreach areas.

The project also includes an aggressive recruiting campaign to interest students in careers in the health care professions and academic intervention strategies to help students who need extra help. The strategies include study skills workshops, supplemental instruction and peer tutoring, faculty-led elective courses and flexible scheduling.

Eastern has offered off-campus baccalaureate nursing classes throughout the region for about 13 years, Whitehouse said. EKU courses already are available at the University's three extended campus centers in Corbin, Manchester and Danville, as well as at community colleges in Hazard and Somerset.

The vast majority of graduates have stayed in their home communities, according to Whitehouse, improving the quality of health care throughout medically underserved eastern and southeastern Kentucky.

"Because of job and family responsibilities," Whitehouse explained, "many of them have told us they could not have gotten their baccalaureate degree if we had not made it easily accessible."

Whitehouse said SECC officials were very instrumental in the acquisition of the grant and have cooperated closely to offer facilities and logistical support.

Last year, EKU's baccalaureate and graduate degree nursing programs received a full 10-year reaccreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Eastern graduates more health care professionals at the undergraduate level than any institution in the Commonwealth.

For more information about the RN to BSN Degree Completion Program, call 859-622-1956.