Christopher Newport University and Riverside Announce Joint Plans for Continuation of Nursing Education
News Release - December 20, 2002
contact:
Margaret Yancey
myancey@cnu.edu
(757) 594-7942
Christopher Newport University and Riverside Health System today announced plans designed to overcome the loss of the baccalaureate nursing program at CNU as a result of state budget cuts.
CNU President Paul Trible and Riverside President Rick Pearce announced the joint effort at a work session of Newport News City Council Tuesday.
Trible and Pearce jointly announced that, "we have assured that CNU's juniors and seniors can graduate with a baccalaureate degree in nursing. Riverside will fund the nursing faculty and administrative staff at CNU for an additional year. We have plans for further academic developments during the coming months."
Riverside's Pearce noted that "these initiatives will assure an uninterrupted flow of highly qualified nurses into this community, fully offsetting the loss of the CNU program."
The outcome of the planning that has taken place for the last several weeks includes:
• Seniors in the nursing program will graduate in 2003 on time as the state-mandated budget cuts take place following graduation.
• Christopher Newport University will work with Riverside to assure that the current juniors in the nursing program can graduate in 2004 with Christopher Newport University baccalaureate degrees in nursing. Riverside will provide funding for the expenses of extending this program for an additional year to enable the juniors to graduate.
• Beginning January 1, 2003, Riverside will provide classrooms, laboratory space and faculty offices for the nursing program at the Warwick Medical and Professional Center, across the street from CNU.
• Riverside School of Professional Nursing will be expanded to increase the number of nursing graduates so that there is no reduction in the flow of nurses into the community as a result of the state budget cutbacks. It is our intention that the members of the CNU nursing faculty will represent the teaching component necessary to achieve that growth and the expectation is that these faculty members will have the opportunity to continue their careers with Riverside indefinitely.
• Christopher Newport University will continue to provide non-nursing courses to students conditionally admitted to Riverside School of Professional Nursing who meet CNU's admission requirements.
"With this agreement, we have solved the problem of securing the educational future of juniors enrolled in the CNU nursing program, paved a pathway for the members of the faculty dedicated to the teaching of nursing and assured that there will be no interruption in the flow of talented nurses into the community," Trible and Pearce said.
"Even with the loss of the CNU program, this region of Virginia has been fortunate with an adequate supply of schools. Nursing educational programs such as Riverside's growing program, Thomas Nelson Community College, Hampton University, Old Dominion, Norfolk State, Rappahannock Community College and others will sustain a good flow of nursing professionals for years to come." Pearce said.
"The challenge faced by our communities is not a shortage of educational programs, but the challenge of assuring that more young people choose nursing as a career, and we are making great strides in this effort by our active career awareness programs in our high schools," Pearce added.
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