CLEVELAND — University Hospitals and Kent State University are partnering to address the ongoing nursing shortage problem in Northeast Ohio through a nursing education initiative.
Starting in May, University Hospitals will provide 20 senior nursing majors at Kent State $12,000 in financial support for their senior year on the contingency they work with University Hospitals for at least two years after graduation, according to a news release from University Hospitals.
When the UH-Kent State program reaches full capacity, it will produce 80 Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates annually.
For the past four years, Kent State's undergraduate nursing classes across all campuses have averaged 443 graduates each year, Kent College of Nursing spokeswoman Kathleen Norman told Ohio.com.
This partnership would increase the enrollment of nursing students.
The goal of the partnership between the two institutions is to attract more people to the field of nursing and eventually fill much-needed nursing positions. By 2020, Northeast Ohio will need at least another 2,850 nurses to care for the rapidly aging local population, according to the Nursing Forecaster of the Center for Health Affairs.
On a national level, nearly one million additional nurses will be needed to care for the growing aging population.
