Touching Tomorrow: School of Nursing Renovations and Nursing Scholarships

The current nursing shortage is a national crisis. There are 126,000 unfilled nursing positions in the United States today; the US Department of Health and Human Services expects this to grow into a shortfall of one million nurses by 2020. The shortage will pose a special problem for healthcare in Allegheny County, the metropolitan county with the second-oldest population in the nation, where the aging population will require more care.

The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing, founded in 1892, was the first nursing school in the nation to admit male students and one of the first to receive accreditation from the National League for Nursing. As the only residential diploma program in Western Pennsylvania , the School of Nursing offers a unique solution to the nursing shortage's impact on our region.

The School is able to attract student nurses from outlying areas to the Pittsburgh region, where they typically remain after graduation to work in Pittsburgh hospitals, by providing on-site student residences that are offered to students at a nominal cost.

The School of Nursing provides an accelerated path to R.N. qualification through its diploma program, which enables nurses to sit for the R.N. examination after 22 months of intensive classes. The diploma program is the fastest way for a future nurse to enter the workforce; currently, 60% of Pennsylvania nurses are graduates of diploma or associate programs. This unique combination of speed and convenience attracts future nurses to our region to help alleviate the current and future nursing shortage.

Students also have the option of earning the BSN degree through West Penn's partnership with Clarion University, which offers instruction on-site at the School of Nursing.

The School of Nursing also is important to West Penn's other education programs. It provides dormitory space for students in West Penn's School of Respiratory Therapy and medical students on rotation from Temple University School of Medicine, for which West Penn Hospital serves as the western clinical campus - the first such partnership in Pennsylvania and one of a handful nationwide. West Penn hosts 50 to 60 medical students on rotation at any given time.

To maintain this important Pittsburgh resource, the School of Nursing Building must be updated. Classrooms, residential spaces, common areas, and the building's exterior are in need of significant structural and cosmetic improvements. These important renovations will make the building better able to attract, retain and serve future nurses and their faculty as well as Temple University medical students. By addressing the building's needs today, we can help ensure that the School of Nursing will continue to support West Penn's important nursing and medical education programs to assure that qualified caregivers will continue to serve the residents of Western Pennsylvania for years to come.

Another essential support for student nurses is scholarships. Many students of The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing need financial assistance with tuition, books and fees. Nursing students are eligible for state and federal loan programs, but these do not cover the total cost of approximately $8,000. To attract future students to careers in nursing and support students in their studies, The Western Pennsylvania Hospital Foundation seeks funds for scholarships for qualified students in need of assistance.

Scholarships will help to remove the financial barriers to a nursing education and relieve nursing students' financial burdens. They also will help recruit nurses at a time when the Pittsburgh region faces a nursing shortage that is projected to increase over the coming decade. Nursing scholarships are essential to maintaining and increasing the number of nurses and helping to ensure quality care in our region.

Investment in nursing is an investment in the health and well being of the residents of Western Pennsylvania. To support renovations to the School of Nursing and scholarships for qualified nursing students, The Western Pennsylvania Hospital Foundation has raised over $6 million.