FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 28, 2005 - Susan Hammons

Unique private-public initiative boosts nursing education in East Texas

Nursing graduates of Stephen F. Austin State University and two East Texas community colleges will enter their profession better prepared to care for patients thanks to an innovative laboratory facility made possible by Nacogdoches Medical Center.

The hospital teamed with nursing administrators from SFA, Angelina College and Panola College, who formed the East Texas Nursing Education Consortium, to provide renovated building space for educators to teach lab exercises. The space was dedicated Feb. 25, and the schools began conducting classes there today.

The consortium is housed at Medical Center Plaza, 4632 N.E. Stallings Drive, Nacogdoches. The hospital renovated 5,400 square feet for a classroom, eight patient rooms and a nurses’ station simulating a hospital setting. Cost of materials was $30,000. Each school, in conjunction with the hospital, contributed equipment including beds, mannequins and computers.

“This facility enhances our capabilities to simulate an actual hospital environment,” said Dr. Glenda Walker, SFA Division of Nursing director. “It provides additional space and staff for instruction, which in turn leads to more opportunities for students to interact one on one with instructors.”

Christen Lasseigne, a third-semester SFA nursing student from Shreveport, La., is among beneficiaries. When students see hospitalized patients, those patients frequently already have an IV, catheter or feeding tube inserted. As a result, future nurses may have limited opportunities for honing skills, she said.

“Here we can practice over and over,” Lasseigne said. “It’s definitely going to build our confidence and give us more practice before we go into the hospital, which our patients will appreciate.”

Medical Center’s chief executive officer, Glenn Robinson, learned of space needs at SFA and fashioned the idea as part of the hospital’s ongoing efforts to find creative ways to help alleviate the escalating need for nurses and nurse instructors. The hospital, which is part of Tenet Texas, acquired the Plaza, formerly The Pinelands Hospital, in 2001.

“The relationship is a win for everyone because we can provide the perfect set-up for the lab given that Medical Center Plaza is a former hospital, and the program itself can help encourage nurse graduates to remain here in East Texas,” Robinson said. “It’s a great example of the private sector partnering with our university and colleges to improve nursing educational opportunities.”

The hospital will pay utilities and taxes for the space and furnish a nurse instructor for 40 hours per week, alleviating each college from finding funds to hire additional full-time employees.

To address a nursing shortage in the state, the Texas Legislature in 2001 set a goal of doubling graduates in nursing programs from 5,000 to 10,000 by 2007. To help meet this challenge, the consortium formed in 2003 to submit a grant to the Texas Higher Education Board. The Coordinating Board funded the grant, allowing the three nursing programs to develop shared courses and resources to increase student retention.

Nursing programs at all three schools have increased enrollments. A constricting factor, however, has been limited space. This new laboratory helps address the space shortage.

SFA enrolls 160 nursing students, with 40 new students admitted each fall and spring. There also are approximately 600 pre-nursing students enrolled at the university.

The university offers an RN transition program with a flexible class schedule that allows nurses with an associate degree in nursing to obtain their Bachelor of Science in Nursing. SFA also collaborates with the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing in Galveston for Master of Science in Nursing and Ph.D. programs offered through two-way interactive technology.