TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing’s fight against the nursing shortage was awarded a more than $700,000 boost from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The funds were awarded to the UA nursing college to expand its community college-partnered online program enabling registered nurses throughout the state to earn advanced degrees more conveniently and, subsequently, to qualify and fill advanced nursing positions.

“When you look at how many nurses in the state have associate degrees, you realize how many people can be positively impacted by the expansion of our RN Mobility track,” said Dr. Sara Barger, dean of UA’s Capstone College of Nursing. “This will put a bachelor’s and master’s degree within reach of every single one of these nurses. And, it’s all online, so it’s not like they need to come here to do it. If they can get to the library’s computer in their hometown or at their community college, they can do it.”

“I congratulate the University for receiving a grant which will further its commitment to community-based nursing,” said U.S. Rep. Artur Davis. “Providing additional educational opportunities for nurses in our rural communities will help ease the healthcare shortage in West Alabama. I strongly applaud the University’s efforts to raise the quality of life in the Black Belt.”

The University of Alabama was one of only three institutions in the Southeast, along with the University of North Carolina and North Carolina A&T State University, to receive one of the 38 competitively awarded grants as part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ $10.1 million Nurse Education, Practice and Retention Program. The first year of funding for UA was $269,000, and it’s renewable for up to three years. In announcing the new grants, the Department of Health and Human Services cited reports predicting the nursing shortage would grow to 29 percent by 2020, compared to a 6 percent shortage in 2000.

“What made us competitive for this was that we have multiple partnerships with community colleges already in place, so the funding agency said, ‘Look at what they’ve done already,’” Barger said. The goal is to develop partnerships with every community college in Alabama, she said.

Dr. Jeannette VanderMeer, assistant professor in the UA Capstone College of Nursing, said the College’s program has existing partnerships with seven community colleges and another four-year university.

Through the use of the Internet, nurses in the RN to BSN track can complete the nursing courses without facing the restrictions of being in class on a specific time and day, VanderMeer said. Instead, RN students have the flexibility of choosing the best time to go online and complete the course requirements. Required clinical activities are designed on an individual basis, and efforts are made to arrange times and locations convenient to students.

The funding will enable the College to hire both faculty and staff to expand the program and will allow for technological upgrades, said VanderMeer, who co-directs the program along with Dr. Ruby Morrison, associate professor in the Capstone College of Nursing.

“This grant will provide the resources to make our online courses better,” VanderMeer said. “It’s going to make them even more state of the art, and it will allow us to offer classes more frequently.”

Earning bachelor’s degrees opens additional doors for RNs such as opportunities to become case managers, clinical specialists, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives or nurse educators, VanderMeer said. “If they wish to fulfill any of these roles, a master’s degree is required. However, they have to first obtain their baccalaureate degree,” she said.

Coordination with the community colleges enables RN students, who are usually working full time, to have their questions answered in a familiar environment and bridges the gap between the University and the community college, VanderMeer said.

The College already has existing partnerships with Central Alabama Community College in Childersburg, the University of West Alabama in Livingston, Bevill Community College in Fayette and Jasper, Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville, Wallace Community College in Dothan, Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham and Northeast Alabama Community College in Rainsville.