In northeast Louisiana, a unique collaboration between hospitals, universities and workforce development agencies is addressing critical gaps in the nursing workforce. Together, they’re training 180 nurses that will provide more than 15,000 patient services in the region.
Workforce Development Board 83, which has been serving northeast Louisiana’s regional workforce for the past thirty years, is facilitating the partnership. Working together, local healthcare facilities and regional training providers will provide six clinical instructors to teach at nontraditional times such as evenings and weekends. The participating schools are Louisiana Delta Community College, Louisiana Tech University and University of Louisiana at Monroe.
In 2016 and 2017, the three nursing schools in the northeast Louisiana region rejected 332 applicants. Schools did not have enough teaching faulty to accept each qualified student who applied. Providing more adjunct faculty will open the pipeline for additional candidates to be trained while maintaining state-mandated ratios of faculty to students.
We’re very proud to be part of this partnership and believe it could be a useful model for other regions to follow in opening up the pipeline for additional nursing training. As always, if you have ideas on how to bridge the healthcare workforce gaps in your community, let us hear from you!
– Michael Tipton
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation President
Head of Community Relations
michael.tipton@bcbsla.com
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