Mountain Home, Arkansas. – May 13, 2024 Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary Hugh McDonald, and Arkansas Workforce Connections Director Kody Waits award more than $20 million in training grants to universities to grow nursing programs announced. The Arkansas Connecting Industry and Nurse Growth (ALIGN) program and the Arkansas Skills Development Department (OSD) have donated $20.4 million to 19 two- to four-year colleges in Arkansas.
One of the winning universities is the University of Arkansas at Mountain Home. They received $625,175 to expand the simulation lab experience by standardizing nursing clinical practice. They will increase her LPN and RN nursing enrollment capacity at ASUMH, continue to recruit and retain clinical nurse educators, and reduce the time required for graduates to integrate into hospital operations. That's what I'm aiming for. Baxter Health is partnering on this grant, and students who register to become their future Baxter Health nurses will be supported by Baxter Health with a stipend and additional funding to help with personal expenses. That will be the case.
To achieve the goals of the new program, ASUMH will hire clinical nurse educators to oversee all aspects of the LPN and RN pre-training program housed at Baxter Health, as well as clinical scheduling, recruitment, and clinical nursing management. Hire a Clinical Nursing Coordinator to supervise. Securing clinical nursing instructors, white coat programs, and student nursing education for apprenticeship programs.
The grant will also provide additional simulation equipment for use on the ASUMH campus and Baxter Heath. Baxter Health was provided with an Apollo mannequin, an Aria mannequin, and a Learning Space Technology – Medical Trainer. ASUMH was provided with Laerdal SimBaby, Laerdal SimJunior, and Nursing Kelly Mannequin.
ALIGN Funding Award | |
Applicant | Prize amount |
arkansas state university | $2,598,396.00 |
ASU – Mountain Home | $625,175.00 |
arkansas tech university | $327,208.00 |
baptist health foundation | $1,944,608.00 |
henderson state university | $761,200.00 |
jefferson hospital association | $420,800.00 |
john brown university | $328,250.00 |
Northwest Arkansas Community College | $2,110,901.58 |
Ouachita Baptist University | $487,000.00 |
philander smith university | $396,857.13 |
University of Arkansas Eleanor Mann School of Nursing | $1,198,353.00 |
University of Arkansas at Batesville Community College (UACCB) | $368,614.26 |
University of Arkansas at Morrilton Community College (UACCM) | $2,024,546.00 |
University of Arkansas – Fort Smith | $2,033,375.00 |
University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Nursing | $969,200.00 |
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | $1,679,566.07 |
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | $1,004,000.00 |
University of Arkansas at Rich Mountain | $645,850.00 |
University of Central Arkansas School of Nursing | $476,100.00 |
total | $20,400,000.04 |