New CSU Pueblo program seeks to improve health care shortages in southern Colorado
A new Colorado State University Pueblo initiative seeking to increase the number of southern Colorado nurses will get a $1.39 million boost thanks to grant funding from the Colorado Opportunity Now grant program.
CSU Pueblo's initiative, known as the “Grow Where You’re Planted: Southern Colorado Partners Leading Advancement in Nursing Track" or PLANT, intends to increase pathways for CSU Pueblo and southern Colorado students to become nurses and nurse educators.
The program is spearheaded by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade to assist workforce development initiatives throughout Colorado. Gov. Jared Polis named PLANT among the initial 47 recipients of Colorado Opportunity Now funds on June 22. A total of $27 million was doled out to the initial 47 recipients.
How health professional shortages impact Pueblo, southern Colorado
The most recent economic dashboard data released by the city of Pueblo identified 343 job postings for registered nurses. That was a significant decrease from the 459 nursing job openings posted in March 2023, but remained higher than the 295 openings posted by the city in November 2022.
In Pueblo County, Avondale, Beulah, Colorado City and Rye are among the areas with the highest need for accessible primary care, according to state data. In south Colorado, the Health Resources and Services Administration has designated 15 counties as either Health Professional Shortage Areas or Medically Underserved Areas.
Health Professional Shortage Areas can be geographic areas, populations, or facilities. The designation means an area has a shortage of primary, dental, or mental health care providers. Medically Underserved Areas are those in which residents lack access to primary care services.
What is the PLANT program? And how does it work?
PLANT is a collaborative initiative that includes partnerships between several higher education institutions and healthcare facilities in southern Colorado. CSU Pueblo Dean of Graduate Studies Misty Sailors and Regional Development Officer Alexandra Hansen led the efforts to obtain grant funding for PLANT from the Colorado Opportunity Now program.
"Colorado State University Pueblo has a really great accredited nursing program," Hansen said. "We felt that what's already going on on campus, along with the types of partnerships that we can build and grow with these grant funds, would allow us to play a part in addressing Colorado's health care crisis in the Southern Colorado region— and in Pueblo as well."
Partnerships identified in PLANT's proposal include Adams State University, Lamar Community College, Mount San Rafael Hospital, Prowers Medical Center, Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center, San Luis Valley Medical Center and Trinidad State College. Other partnerships include the Area Health Education Centers, the Southern Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and the Workforce Development Centers.
As part of PLANT, partners will play a role in recruiting, training and hiring efforts. Other aspects of the program may include online learning, satellite learning spaces and financial assistance.
"We look at this as not just trying to place our own students that are already interested in nursing into high-need areas, but to simultaneously bring interested students in with the resources that can support students that maybe traditionally face barriers to higher education," Hansen said.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: CSU Pueblo launches new program for nurses with help from state grant
