Date: June 22, 2009
Contact: Donna Jones, Chair
Department of Nursing
417-255-7245

    WEST PLAINS, Mo.– Missouri State University-West Plains will receive $170,000 in 2009-10 to fund additional students in its Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree program. The additional funding is part of the $40 million statewide initiative called Caring for Missourians.    
     The funds, university officials said, will cover the costs of training up to 20 additional nursing students in a second admission/class cycle beginning in January 2010 and ending in December 2011.  Applications for this cycle are being accepted now, and area residents interested in applying for admission to the university and the ASN program should do so by August 1, 2009.
    “The funds provided through the Caring for Missourians program will allow Missouri State-West Plains to address the two biggest problems in our country – the economy and health care,” Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Dr. Drew Bennett said.  “Anything that helps us graduate more nurses serves as a jobs program and stimulates the economy, as well as reduces the cost of healthcare, especially in rural areas.  While we are an open admissions campus, there is a back log of students waiting to enter our nursing program, and 100 percent of our nursing graduates who seek employment find it.  This is a great use of our tax dollars, providing a huge return on a relatively small investment.”
    “We are very excited about the opportunity to expand our program with these funds and offer an additional admission cycle for area residents interested in a nursing career,” said Donna Jones, chair of the Nursing Department.  “With the Caring for Missourians funding, we can further our ability to meet the growing needs of health care providers in our seven-county primary service region and beyond.”   
    The Caring for Missourians program was one of Gov. Jay Nixon’s initiatives this past legislative session. When fully implemented, it is expected to result in as many as 900 additional Missouri students to enter high-demand, critical-need health care fields.  Through Caring for Missourians, all of Missouri’s two- and four-year public colleges and universities receive specific amounts from the $40 million total as part of their Fiscal Year 2010 appropriation, which begins July 1, 2009.  The institutions are now developing individual plans to maximize the benefit of those funds for expanding the capacity of their health career training programs, and the schools will be asked to report progress on meeting their target goals.
    Jones said the funds received through the Caring for Missourians program will pay the salaries of full-time and part-time nursing faculty who will train the new cohort of nursing students.
    Area residents interested in applying for the second cycle are encouraged to attend one of two informational sessions being offered in the coming weeks.  The first is set for 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, in Kellett Hall Room 101; the second will be 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at the same location.  The seminars are free and will provide information on nursing as a career, educational preparation for nursing, and a description of the classroom and clinical components of the Missouri State-West Plains nursing program.  A question and answer session will follow the presentation at each seminar.  No appointment or pre-registration is necessary to attend.
    For more information about the nursing program and how to apply, contact the Missouri State-West Plains Nursing Department at 417-255-7245, e-mail the department at WPNursing@missouristate.edu, or visit the department’s Web site at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu/nursing.