The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation approves nearly $1 million in funding for Columbus-area colleges of nursing

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Rick Vincent
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(COLUMBUS, OHIO) – The Columbus-based Osteopathic Heritage Foundation (www.osteopathicheritage.org) today announced $991,000 in funding to five area colleges of nursing as a continuation of its healthcare workforce initiative.

The awards to the nursing programs at The Ohio State University, Mount Carmel College of Nursing, Columbus State Community College, Otterbein College and Capital University are intended to help increase student capacity, primarily by preparing more instructors and equipping training facilities.

“A study conducted by the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce found the area’s need for registered nurses (RNs) will increase more than 21% this decade alone, which is much faster than area colleges of nursing can prepare them,” Rick Vincent, Foundation president, said. “We must act now to avoid the severe nursing shortages experienced in other parts of the country.”

The following Foundation awards to address the RN workforce challenge were presented in response to a January 2005 request for proposals from Columbus nursing schools:

• The Ohio State University College of Nursing ($230,000) – The majority of this funding will provide neonatal, pediatric and intensive care-level patient simulation equipment in the College’s upgraded Technology Learning Complex. Nursing students can learn and practice patient care techniques on simulators before seeing live patients.

The award will also provide a clinical instructor to tutor nursing students having difficulty with clinical courses. The goal is to reduce student attrition and increase the nursing graduation rate to more than 93%.

Additionally, the award will help with development of a master’s program for students with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree who would like to work as bedside generalists in acute care settings. Students can be prepared to take the RN licensure exam after 18 months of full-time study.

• Mount Carmel College of Nursing ($221,000) – Foundation support will help Mount Carmel increase its annual number of graduating nurses by more than 50% by 2009. Funds will equip classrooms with audio-visual equipment, computers, microscopes, patient simulators, software and other furnishings to support an increase in the number of faculty and students.

Mount Carmel will also provide a program to help master’s degreed nurses achieve the required certification to become nursing educators. The goal is to enroll 20 participants annually in the one-year post-master’s certificate in education program.

• Columbus State Community College ($193,000) – Having expanded its nursing student enrollment by more than 50% in the past three years, Columbus State continues its focus on increasing enrollment, retaining students and graduating them with an associate’s degree in nursing. The Foundation award will enable the school to expand staffing of its Success Center, which provides academic assessment, tutoring and referral services – especially to those at risk of leaving the program or performing poorly. The award will also provide computers and faculty support for the online nursing program. A 2003 Foundation award to Columbus State provided $364,000 for a patient simulator for student nurses to learn and perfect their clinical techniques.

• Otterbein College of Nursing ($177,000) – Foundation funding will support acquisition of skills lab equipment and materials to help nursing students practice their patient care techniques. The award will also support clinical faculty and a skills lab instructor. All are needed for Otterbein’s GAIN (Getting Adults in Nursing) program, aimed at attracting students ages 25-60 for the accelerated, independent study curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree in nursing in three years. Otterbein expects to recruit 25 students to begin the program this fall, with another 25 starting in 2006.

• Capital University ($170,000) – This award will support additional faculty, curriculum development, skills lab equipment and supplies, and other operational expenses for Capital-Nursing Accelerated Program for those with bachelor’s degrees in other fields. In 20 months participants can earn a bachelor of science in nursing. Capital expects 30 students to enter the program each fall beginning in 2006.


In 2002 the Foundation initiated a collaborative composed of the Chamber of Commerce as the project facilitator, the Columbus health delivery systems and the area colleges to determine future nursing workforce needs and ensure there are adequate numbers of highly trained registered nurses to meet them. In addition to projected staffing needs, the group looked at nursing education program capacity, barriers to college enrollment, faculty and facility requirements, and employment issues.

During the imitative, colleges have increased nursing student enrollment – several by more than 50%, health systems have established innovative educational assistance programs, and more than 200 high school administrators and counselors attended a conference to obtain information for students interested in healthcare careers.

In addition to the Foundation funds and those invested by the hospitals and colleges, the Chamber succeeded in obtaining federal appropriations of $416,000 for the colleges and $300,000 to enhance allied health professional training in the hospitals.

“The participating organizations have truly stepped up in an attempt to resolve the healthcare workforce issue, and the Chamber staff has been vital to the collaborative’s success,” Vincent said.

The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, which has approved funding awards in excess of $68 million since 1999, supports health and quality of life issues in central Ohio through targeted initiatives such as those outlined above. It is also the nation's pre-eminent foundation supporting osteopathic medical education and research. Additional information about the Foundation is available online at www.osteopathicheritage.org.


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