A nearly $1.4 million federal grant aimed largely at boosting recruitment to health care careers and retraining industry professionals has been received by Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

"This project — Rural Healthcare Training & Retraining Initiative — will result in an increased pipeline of workers, at all career stages, into the health care industry, help current health care professionals advance their careers and increase the quality of care within the rural Missouri and Missouri Ozark region," said Steven Langdon, Southeast's nursing school president, commenting on the grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

No fewer than 29 Missouri counties are targeted by the $1,394,535 grant — 13 of them identified as "persistent poverty" counties.

Included in the grant area are Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Crawford, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Howell, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscot, Perry, Phelps, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, Stoddard, Texas, Washington, Wayne and Wright counties.

Joblessness in the targeted counties ranges from a low of 2.9% in Perry to 6.1% in Pemiscot.

"We wanted to find a way to expand our reach and provide health care education for the region. This grant will allow us to take education to these counties and connect with graduating high school students, displaced workers and professionals looking for a career, a career change or advancement in their skills. For so many individuals, this grant will be not only career changing, but life changing," Langdon said.

Other provisions

In addition to finding new people to enter health care fields, the Labor Department grant is also aimed at the following, according to a Monday, Oct. 31, SoutheastHEALTH news release.

• Providing last-dollar, need-based financial support to incentivize potential workers to enter into an Associate of Science, Associate in Applied Science, Bachelor of Science or RN program that leads to credentialing and entry into the health care workforce.
• Providing regional on-site staff refresher training that will result in regionally-recognized certificates in fields such as Infection Control, Healthcare Regulations, Long-term Care, Human Resources and Electronic Healthcare Records.
• Enabling health care professionals such as nurses, certified nurse assistants and diagnostic technologists to apply for and complete nationally-recognized certifications to upgrade credentials, leading to career advancement in areas such as Wound Care Certification, Infection Control Certification and the like. The cost of such credentialing is often financially out of reach or not covered by the employer.

Langdon said that over a three-year period, the project is expected to reach more than 5,000 participants.

History

Since 1990, Southeast's College of Nursing and Health Sciences has graduated 1,853 students.