NCHS Grant Helps Ivy Tech Lafayette Expand Nursing Program, Accept More Students

 North Central Health Services (NCHS) has announced a $2 million Community Benefit Partnership grant to Ivy Tech Community College Lafayette for the expansion of the nursing program. The grant was made public at an announcement made on April 25 on the Ivy Tech Lafayette campus.

“Ivy Tech has a significant impact on our region’s healthcare workforce. Most of their graduates stay and work in this area,” said Stephanie Long, Chief Executive Officer of NCHS. “Ivy Tech is perfectly positioned to respond to the growing shortage of registered nurses.”

The grant will help Ivy Tech accept and graduate more nursing students from the program, impacting the growing need for nurses at area hospitals and healthcare facilities. One of  Ivy Tech’s challenges is the limitations placed on the number of students that can be accepted into the nursing program by accreditation requirements and space on campus.

“We have good facilities and faculty here,” said Dr. Sandy Fights, Dean of the School of Nursing. “But we are at capacity for the number of students that we can accept in the associate science of nursing (ASN) program. The grant will allow us to move forward to increase that capacity.”

The grant funds will be used to construct a second, dedicated nursing simulation lab on the campus. The new simulation lab will be equipped with the same state-of-the-art technologies and human patient simulators as the current multi-use lab. In a simulation lab, nursing instructors program a patient simulator for a variety of health conditions and emergencies. Students practice clinical judgement in a safe environment. The use of simulations in nursing schools allows students to gain experience in situations that are unavailable in clinical settings, allowing students to make clinical decisions and see the results of their decisions.

The grant will also support additional faculty and support staff positions, including a simulation coordinator who will help maintain and manage the quality and usage of the labs and an assistant who will onboard and track students throughout the nursing program.

“We are so thankful for the support that NCHS is providing to our program. We will be able to accept more students into the ASN program and prepare them to enter the workforce at a time when there is a shortage of nurses,” said Dr. Fights.

Ivy Tech Lafayette’s nursing program prepares students to apply for the NCLEX-RN licensure exam to become a registered nurse. The ASN provides opportunities for graduates to transfer to a four-year university where they can earn a bachelor of science degree in nursing and continue towards a master’s degree. The school of nursing also prepares students to apply for the NCLEX-PN licensure exam to become a licensed practical nurse.  The LPN provides the student with the opportunity to return to the program and complete the transition pathway to obtain RN licensure.  More information is available at www.ivytech.edu/nursing.

“We have several ways that a student can enter our nursing program,” said Dr. Fights. “They can be accepted into the program directly. We have transition pathways for LPNs, medical assistants, and paramedics. We recently added a transition program for military medic personnel.”

Ivy Tech plans to open the new simulation lab in August 2023.

North Central Health Services (NCHS) is committed to providing health care and promoting healthy communities to benefit the citizens of Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties. Since 1999, NCHS has awarded over $81 million in grant funding to more than 250 organizations. Beyond its Community Benefit Capital Grants program, NCHS initiates strategic partnerships like the Ivy Tech Community College Nursing Expansion initiative with coalitions, funders, nonprofits, and other entities to directly address the most critical community health needs identified by the NCHS and River Bend Hospital Community Health Needs Assessment. These NCHS-initiated Community Benefit Partnerships fund the launch, expansion, or strengthening of programs and services that improve health outcomes and develop healthy communities.

For more information, visit nchsi.com