(NORFOLK, Neb.) – The inaugural semester of classes in the new J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh College of Nursing in Norfolk is over and the reviews are positive. The J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh College of Nursing is a unique educational partnership between Northeast Community College and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Nursing.
The 43,747-square-foot facility houses Northeast’s basic nurse aide, medication aide, practical nursing (PN), and associate degree nursing (ADN) programs and the UNMC College of Nursing’s undergraduate and graduate-level programs.
Some 59 Northeast students were enrolled in the practical nursing diploma program and 50 were enrolled in the associate degree nursing program last semester. Dozens of others completed Northeast’s basic nurse aide and medication aide classes there too.
UNMC had 32 students working on their bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN). Another 29 master’s in nursing students, two post-master of science nursing (MSN) students, and two doctor of philosophy (PhD) in nursing students live and work in the northeast region and affiliate with the Norfolk campus.
The UNMC College of Nursing Northern Division is led by Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of all five campuses of the UNMC College of Nursing. Ruth Macnamara, Ph.D., who retired last month, served as assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing Northern Division.
Chuck Pohlman is the dean of Northeast’s agriculture, health and science division. Karen Weidner, Northeast director of nursing programs, led a staff of nine faculty and one support staff person.
Faith Regional Health Services of Norfolk is also a partner in the project. Faith Regional, along with other area hospitals and nursing homes, will be clinical training sites for both Northeast and UNMC nursing students.
After the college opening last August, UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., describing it as “probably, arguably, the best nursing college facility in this country at this time.”The college includes state-of-the-art instructional equipment and seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day access to computer labs for students.
“Chancellor Maurer and I are delighted with the successful launch of the partnership,” Dr. Tilden said. “Having six levels of nursing students, enrolled in two colleges, studying side-by-side in this beautiful building is a fulfillment of a shared dream.”
“It is also testament to the can-do attitude of the citizens of the region,” Dr, Tilden continued. “As these students move through their programs and graduate into local jobs, the partnership will begin paying wonderful dividends for the region.”
“We are extremely pleased with how the first semester went in this new facility,” Northeast’s Pohlman said. “There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t hear very positive remarks about the facility and the advanced instructional technology it contains. We are very, very proud of the J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh College of Nursing and know that our students are getting an exceptionally good education there.”
“My career path has been a winding road, all leading to this major turning point, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to do it right here at home in Norfolk,” said Sheryl Houston, a busy wife and mother who is enrolled in the UNMC bachelor of science in nursing program. “I especially enjoy collaborating with Northeast faculty and students and those involved in the UNMC programs; it’s a unique opportunity for nurses in both avenues to develop a community of teamwork and expand their learning experiences.”
Brandy Bussinger, RN, a 2010 graduate of the Northeast associate degree nursing (ADN) program, said, “I actually attend classes at UNMC online and will graduate in May this year. I currently work in my hometown of Bassett as a full-time night shift RN and go to school full-time around that.”
“If it weren’t for the online program through UNMC and preparation from Northeast Community College, I would never have been able to continue on to become a bachelor’s-level RN while raising my children and working," Bussinger said.
Keri Wisnieski, Norfolk, described the education offered as a “great opportunity. As an associate degree nursing student at Northeast, the college of nursing, both the NECC and UNMC programs and facilities, far exceeds the expectation I had when it opened. It offers the very newest technologies and the Northeast faculty are excellent in guiding me as I reach my goals to become a registered nurse with an ADN from Northeast and eventually a BSN from UNMC,” she said.
UNMC currently has nursing divisions in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, and Scottsbluff.
For more information about Northeast nursing programs, contact Weidner at (402) 844-7330 or karenkw@northeast.edu. For more information about UNMC nursing classes in Norfolk, contact Jackie Smith at (402) 844-7890 or jsmithk@unmc.edu.