Nursing program receives $664,379

~ The grant to Southeast Missouri Hospital and Southeast will be used to counter a shortage of registered nurses in Kennett, Mo.

The Missouri Foundation for Health has awarded a $664,379 grant to Southeast Missouri State University and Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences to implement a nursing program at the Kennett, Mo., higher education center.

It's the largest award ever granted by the health foundation to a Cape Girardeau County recipient, university officials said.

Under the partnership, Southeast Missouri State University will provide the general education and science classes and the nursing college will provide the nursing courses and award the associate of applied science in nursing degrees.

The program, which will start next month, will provide the training needed for licensed practical nurses to become registered nurses, university and nursing college officials said.

Dr. Tonya Buttry, president of the nursing college, said Kennett has a shortage of registered nurses. "We knew that there were licensed practical nurses in that community who desired to enter a registered nursing program but needed an avenue to do so," she said.

Marsha Blanchard, director of the Kennett Area Higher Education Center, said the grant will allow the center to have a state-of-the-art nursing program. "We are going to be able to purchase nursing equipment and keep it right here at our center," she said.

The foundation grant will be leveraged with cash and in-kind contributions from the university and nursing college, officials said.

In addition, Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett has pledged $125,000 worth of hospital beds and other supplies over the next three years to outfit a nursing skills lab.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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