Nevada nursing shortage draws federal grant, new college program

Tuesday, March 2, 2004 | 1:40 a.m.

Nevada's nursing shortage drew attention throughout the state Monday, with Rep. Jim Gibbons touting a $750,000 federal grant to recruit and train nurses, and Nevada State College at Henderson preparing to launch a speed-study nursing degree program.

Gibbons joined campus representatives and nursing students from Western Nevada Community College and Great Basin College at a news conference at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno.

They were highlighting what Gibbons called the third-largest congressionally directed education award for a pilot program.

"Quality health care hinges on the availability of trained nurses," the Republican congressman said in a statement.

In Henderson, the Nevada State College program will begin this fall, designed to lead to a nursing degree in one year for people who already have a bachelor's degree in any subject.

"Given the nursing shortage, this is a very smart option for schools to consider," said Robert Rosseter, a spokesman for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in Washington, D.C. "It's right on a lot of levels."

The Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno already has an 18-month accelerated program.

Nevada ranks last in the nation in patient-to-nurse ratios, with about 520 nurses per 100,000 residents. The national average is 782 nurses to residents.