The University of Houston-Victoria has made big changes to address the state-wide nursing shortage. Those changes are also helping right here at our hometown healthcare facilities.

UHV began offering the Bachelors and Masters of Nursing programs in 2006 and officials say there are many reasons the programs are attractive for nurses. There are currently 24 students in the Bachelor of Nursing program at UHV and the University's graduation rate stands at 97%. Dean Kathryn Tart is attributing the success of UHV's program to the once a week class schedule.
Frances Downs has been a Registered Nurse with an Associated Degree for nearly 20 years. But, she's never had the opportunity to go back to school, until now."It allows me to do all of the classroom work, the lecture, the lab, instruction with peers, other nurses. If it wasn't the 1 day a week, I don't believe I'd be able to do it," says Downs.

Many are referring to nursing as a recession-proof job and President Obama's stimulus package could provide even more new opportunities for nurses in our area. Tart says, "nursing received $500 million over the whole US, but some of that money is, once you graduate if you work in an underserved area, which could be many of our surrounding communities, those loans will be forgiven."

Our hospitals have a huge incentive to work closely with the university, so that the students who graduate from UHV and enter the healthcare industry in the area can meet the needs of the community. "I think people have the old image of the nurse with the cap at the bedside, as a servant. And, maybe, they're not really understanding this is an extremely high-tech career field right now. Everything we touch is computerized. It takes a very intelligent person to be able to critically think and put all the pieces together," says Sammie Drehr, Chief Nursing Officer at DeTar Hospital. Those underrepresented in the field are men, minorities and nurses under the age of 30.

And, with nurses heavily recruited across the state and the nation, the hospitals here have a vested interest in recruiting from this area in order to reduce turnover. Lynne Voskamp, Chief Nursing Officer at Citizens Medical Center, says, "there's certainly a lot of job security in nursing. The pay is also very decent. So, I hope that we're going to be able to recruit more people into the nursing field for those very reasons."

Our local college, university and healthcare facilities are making steps in the right direction to be proactive, rather than reactive when it comes to addressing the nursing shortage. And officials say that is the key to make sure the community continues to receive quality healthcare.

For more information on the nursing shortage in Texas and what is being done, check out www.texasneedsnurses.org.