File Photo.

An invaluable tool that comes at a much-needed time has debuted on Butler County Community College's campus.

The college's 12-month practical nursing program, which received authorization from the state in August to create it, currently has 10 students.

The program is aimed at preparing graduates – who will seek careers as neonatal nurse practitioners, forensic nurses and registered nurses – for licensure.

The program is a result of BC3 forming a $10 million partnership with Concordia Lutheran Ministries to establish a practical nursing program as the region experiences a nursing shortage.

Needless to say, a nursing shortage is always a frightening prospect. In the middle of a pandemic that never seems to subside, it is even more hazardous.

Health care providers told the Eagle last summer that although ebbs and flows in nursing staff is normal, the situation in the region was heading toward a “crisis.”

A recent national study by the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences found that 1.2 million new registered nurses would be needed by 2030 to address staffing shortages, and the average age of nurses has increased because as many retire, schools are left without a pipeline of younger teachers to take their place.

A lack of qualified faculty and budget constraints have resulted in about 80,000 qualified nursing applicants being turned away in the past year and, as a result, fewer nursing graduates joining the workforce.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the exodus of nurses from the profession has been exacerbated due to overwhelming caseloads and high levels of stress stemming from personal safety concerns and being surrounded by dying patients for two years.

So, the debut of BC3's new nursing program couldn't come at a better time, and its graduates are likely to be much needed after completing the program.

Licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses were high-priority occupations in the Tri-County and West Central workforce development areas in 2021, according to the state's Department of Labor & Industry.

“The timing of the start of this program couldn't be better,” said Patty Annear, dean of BC3's Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health. “Right now, we have a major nursing shortage, and I believe that the practical nurse is going to start taking a little bit more of an active role at the bedside, and particularly in long-term-care nursing, where the shortages are the greatest.”

We're glad to have this wonderful program in the community and wish those who are enrolled in it success.

– NCD