State funding approved for Norfolk nursing division

Sen. Mike Flood

Harold M. Maurer, M.D.

Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc.

Bill Path, Ph.D.

Jim Sinek

Megan Promes

State Sen. Mike Flood’s vision to ensure northeast Nebraska has enough nurses to care for its residents is a giant step closer to reality.

On Tuesday, Gov. Dave Heineman signed a bill that will fund a UNMC College of Nursing Northern Division in Norfolk.

The bill provides for operating expenses — $425,000 in fiscal year 2009 and more than $1.4 million in fiscal year 2010 and thereafter.

“What started three years ago with a letter (to UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D.) has become a reality,” said Flood, who hails from Norfolk. “The Norfolk area has re-charted a new course, one that embraces our strengths and builds for the future.”

Funds to build the facility came entirely from private donations. A Northeast Community College capital campaign goal of $11.9 million has been exceeded and the campaign continues to raise funds for an endowment fund for the facility.

Construction of a 43,747 gross square-foot facility, which will be on the Northeast Community College campus, is expected to begin soon with a tentative opening date of August 2010.

The new division was prompted by Flood’s desire to address the growing demand for acute care in northeast Nebraska, and the associated need to increase the number of nurses with bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

Northeast Nebraska, which has fewer registered nurses and nurses with bachelor’s and master’s degrees than other region in the state, is in particular need.

For their commitment to statewide excellence, Flood applauded University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken, Dr. Maurer, UNMC Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Bob Bartee and UNMC College of Nursing Dean Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc.

UNMC takes pride in its role of addressing the needs of all Nebraskans, Dr. Maurer said.

“We see ourselves as a 500-mile wide campus. This new division is a marvelous accomplishment,” he said. “This public-private partnership will change the health care outlook for the region and will become an economic driver. The state itself will be more robust as there is a workforce shortage of nurses across Nebraska.”

Dr. Maurer thanked those who made the partnership happen, including Flood, Milliken, the Board of Regents, Heineman, State Sen. Lavon Heidemann, chairman of the appropriations committee, and the Nebraska Legislature.

“We also thank the residents of northeast Nebraska for supporting the development of the division, the Northeast Community College for being a vital partner in creating a national model for nursing education and the Faith Regional Health Services, which will provide, and has already provided, a lot of support for this effort,” Dr. Maurer said.

The partnership between Northeast Community College (NECC) and UNMC will serve as a national model for collaboration and partnership between institutions of higher learning, Flood said.

Northeast Community College president, Bill Path, Ph.D., said the governor’s approval will ultimately lead to improved health care for northeast Nebraskans.

“We welcome the UNMC College of Nursing to our campus and look forward to providing exemplary education for all levels of nursing for generations to come,” Dr. Path said

Last week, Dr. Path announced the capital campaign’s capstone gift of more than $1 million from Norfolk philanthropists J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh. The facility will bear the name J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh College of Nursing.

The new nursing division in northeast Nebraska is a great example of a local, grassroots initiative, said University of Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook of Lyons, who serves northeast Nebraska.

“It also is the university at its best — one that works to serve the needs of Nebraskans,” he said.

Milliken applauded Sen. Flood’s leadership, as well as Heineman and the legislature for their support of the initiative.

“The new College of Nursing Division in Norfolk represents a great partnership between the university, the community college, the private sector and the community, and it will play an important role in meeting Nebraska’s health care needs,” Milliken said.

The establishment of the UNMC College of Nursing Northern Division is a significant achievement for northeast Nebraska, said Jim Sinek, president of Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk.

“I am proud of the fact that early on, Faith Regional Health Services was a leader both conceptually and financially to make this dream a reality,” he said.

Fund to help students In addition to the capital campaign funding raised for the UNMC College of Nursing Northern Division, a Nursing Fund for Excellence was established that will provide greater student financial assistance and state-of-the-art equipment. “I really want to express my deep appreciation to our partners in northeast Nebraska for their commitment to this fund for excellence,” said Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the College of Nursing. “This fund will help us make this a first-class operation. We thank Faith Regional Health Services, a major contributor to this fund, and hospitals, health agencies and individuals in north and northeast Nebraska whose generosity will assure a strong nursing workforce.”

Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing, said she and the faculty are excited to have a fifth division of the college, which is based in Omaha and has divisions in Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff.

“We celebrate the funding of this program,” Dr. Tilden said. “The UNMC College of Nursing has long embraced a multi-campus approach in order to educate nurses for all of Nebraska. This division means more new nurses, more nurses with advanced degrees and more future faculty.

“We feel that we have a lot of experience in this one college … and we will bring that experience to bear so that the northeast division is equally successful as our other divisions.”

Flood’s vision, she said, became a reality because of the success of the public-private partnership.

“By joining forces across public and private lines, we can make things happen,” Dr. Tilden said. “It has been an enormous pleasure to work with NCC and FRHS over the past three years and we celebrate with our northeast partners and the citizens of the region this critical action that funds the operations of this new initiative.”

She said the college now will be focused on the appointment of faculty and staff, since in the fall of 2010, the division expects to welcome its first class of students.

When completed, the facility will house six levels of nursing education, including NECC’s basic nurse aide, licensed practical nursing and associate degree nursing programs and UNMC’s bachelor of science, master of science, and doctoral programs. Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing would fulfill their general education requirements through NECC classes.

Megan Promes recently graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School and plans to attend nursing school. The new division will let her save money, stay close to home, keep her job and be near her family and friends.

“I look forward to pursuing a career in nursing,” Promes said. “I think it’s awesome that I can pursue my dream in my hometown.”

An artist’s rendering of the building that will house the College of Nursing’s Norfolk Division.

Dr. Tilden said over the course of the three years of planning for the division, many contributed to the success.

“I especially want to acknowledge the feasibility study task force that was composed of College of Nursing faculty, and also representatives from northeast Nebraska,” Dr. Tilden said. “The task force set the tone for this partnership. They worked effectively in a short period of time, they collected the necessary data and helped paint the picture for why a division in northeast Nebraska was a very, very good idea.”