(The Center Square) – North Carolina is making progress in educating more nurses, in part with increased state funding and private sector donations, the president of the University of North Carolina System said Thursday.
“Right now, North Carolina has an urgent need for nurses,” UNC president Peter Hans told the system’s Board of Governors. “Our population is both growing and growing older. The demands on the nursing profession are intense.”
There could be a shortage of 12,000 nurses over the next decade, particularly in rural areas, Hans said.
“This is precisely the kind of fundamental need our public universities are here to address,” said Hans.
There are 12 nursing schools within the university system.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to leverage the system for a common cause,” Hans told the governing board.
Philanthropist Bill Conway, cofounder of the investment group the Carlyle Group, recently visited UNC Chapel Hill to celebrate a $5 million gift to the nursing school, Hans said.
“I was grateful for the chance to show him and his staff how committed our state policymakers are to expanding health care access through our public universities,” said Hans.
Conway has contributed an additional $2 million to Western Carolina University, said Hans.
“I’m quite optimistic after our visit that several more of our universities will be considered for similar gifts,” Hans said.
The UNC System office is devoting $40 million in grants from the Legislature to help nursing schools expand their programs, Hans added.
There is also a new $23 million rural residency education training fund to help locate more doctors and nurses in underserved areas.
“Our goal at the system level isn’t just to make an impact through these funds but to use to use this grant making process as an opportunity to learn, to gain insights into the strategies that are most effective for tackling the nursing shortage and to share those findings widely,” Hans said.
