Colleges and CaroMont join forces to address nursing shortage

Ted Hall
·2 min read
Carolyn Harmon, Ph.D., DNP, RN-BC, is dean of nursing at Belmont Abbey College. She spoke recently at a meeting of the Belmont Rotary Club. Her program was arranged by Rotarian Mike Giang, CFO at Holy Angels.
Carolyn Harmon, Ph.D., DNP, RN-BC, is dean of nursing at Belmont Abbey College. She spoke recently at a meeting of the Belmont Rotary Club. Her program was arranged by Rotarian Mike Giang, CFO at Holy Angels.

A flourishing partnership between the nursing program at Belmont Abbey College, CaroMont Health, Gaston College and Gaston County middle and high schools could help ease a serious nursing shortage, Belmont Rotarians learned at a recent meeting.

"I've never had academic leadership willing to provide substantial

tuition support to help the community and to work so closely

with healthcare providers like CaroMont Health."--Belmont Abbey College Dean of Nursing Dr. Carolyn Harmon

A flourishing partnership between the nursing program at Belmont Abbey College, CaroMont Health, Gaston College and Gaston County middle and high schools could help ease a serious nursing shortage, Belmont Rotarians learned at a recent meeting.

Carolyn Harmon, dean of nursing at Belmont Abbey College, presented the program and said the cooperative spirit that exists here and the new hospital under construction adjacent to the Belmont Abbey campus will result in more local students entering nursing.

The colleges and CaroMont are developing a program that will cover education costs for local nursing students who agree to stay here and work in nursing after graduation. And efforts are under way in middle and high schools to identify earlier students who have the motivation and ability to pursue a nursing career.

Dean of Nursing Carolyn Harmon leads the nursing program at Belmont Abbey College.
Dean of Nursing Carolyn Harmon leads the nursing program at Belmont Abbey College.

Harmon started the Belmont Abbey College nursing program in 2020. It is the third nursing program she's started in her career. But she said her experience here has been unique in some very positive ways.

"I've never had academic leadership willing to provide substantial tuition support to help the community and to work so closely with healthcare providers like CaroMont Health," she said.

"It has been a blessing here," she added. "There's just a different mindset and different priorities at Belmont Abbey College."

When CaroMont Health's new Belmont hospital opens next year, Harmon said the Belmont Abbey nursing program will be able to use it for clinical rotations. "In the future, we can help provide nurses to staff the hospitals," she added.

Rotary is an international service organization with 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries. "Service Above Self" is the Rotary motto. Rotarians work together to promote peace, fight disease, support education, grow local economies and protect the environment.

Belmont Rotary Club, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025, meets for lunch and a program on local topics each Wednesday, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m., at the Home2 Suites by Hilton in Belmont. Guests interested in learning more about local businesses and issues and how Rotary serves the community are welcome. For more information, visit www.belmontrotaryclub.com.

Ted Hall is a member of Belmont Rotary Club.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Colleges and CaroMont join forces to address nursing shortage