NU receives grant to address nursing workforce
Feb. 28—Niagara University has received a $100,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to continue work done by its College of Nursing to improve the nursing workforce, increase awareness of health inequities and develop improved care across Western New York, with an emphasis on Niagara County.
It's the third consecutive year the college has received support from the organization for its "Practice Innovations to Support a Resilient, Inclusive & Equitable Nurse Workforce" initiative. The renewed funding will be used to expand the academic preparation of students and improve the quality of care across the lifespan, particularly for the most complex and vulnerable patients in healthcare settings, by the increased use of virtual reality, telemedicine training, and other patient-care simulation educational experiences and game-training in its state-of-the-art Nursing Simulation Center and skills lab. These on-campus clinical experiences will enable students to develop sound critical thinking and clinical judgment skills.
The grant will also support the work of the college's resilience and resource officer, who will build resilience for student and novice nurses working in complex and stressful healthcare settings and upskill nurse leaders who interact with these vulnerable clinicians to decrease turnover and departure from the nursing profession while improving personal wellness, retention, and job satisfaction.
Professional development opportunities will also be offered to nursing students, recent graduates, and other healthcare workers, particularly those early in their careers and/or those in leadership positions.
The project builds upon the work started in 2022 with funding from the Cabrini Foundation to enhance technology in the College of Nursing's simulation and skills labs, develop expanded certifications to create new pathways to the nursing and allied health professions and facilitate high-impact training for community health instructors.
Niagara's College of Nursing offers a four-year bachelor of science degree and an accelerated B.S. in nursing, both of which are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. It also will begin offering a master's degree in family nurse practitioner this fall.
The college has long-standing relationships with regional healthcare partners, including Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, Catholic Health, and Kaleida Health, who train students and hire graduates into nursing roles upon program completion.
