Project Narrative

Project Narrative

Statement of Need

Southern Nevada, Clark County (Las Vegas) has experienced phenomenal population growth

of 85% over the last ten years.1 Nevada is last in the percentage of high school diplomas and 46th

in the proportion of bachelor degrees or higher.2 The large in-migration of residents is not

increasing the educational attainment level of residents: 51% of new residents have less than a

college degree and the largest number of young in-migrants, ages 22-29 has less than a high

school education.3 This has created tremendous pressure on the infrastructure and workforce

needs of the region, particularly the healthcare system.

Industry of Focus: Nursing is the pivotal health care profession, highly valued for its

specialized knowledge, skill and caring in improving the health status of the public and ensuring

safe, effective, quality care.4 The demand for nurses in Las Vegas, Clark County and Nevada is

currently outstripping the supply. Nevada has the worst nurse to population ratio in the nation at

520 Registered Nurses per 100,000, ranks 42nd in the number of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN)

employed and ranks 49th among the states in its ratio of Nursing Assistants to population.5 Clark

County is also a Health Professional Shortage Area and a Medically Underserved Area/

Medically Underserved Population.6 The increase in hospital beds in the area is pushing the

demand for Nurses even higher. The Nevada Cancer Institute and the Rawson-Neal Psychiatric

facility opened in Las Vegas in 2005; five new hospitals are slated to open in 2006 and 2007; one

new hospital opened in rural Clark County-Mesquite in 2004, and another rural hospital in

1 U.S. Census 20002 Ibid3 Las Vegas Perspective 2005, Nevada Development Authority4 Nursing’s Agenda For the Future, 2002 American Nurses Association5 State Health Work Profiles Highlights Nevada, Health Resources & Services Administration6 Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Care

ETA Community Based Job Training Initiative Community College of Southern Nevada1

Pahrump in neighboring Nye County opened in 2006. These facilities add over 700 beds with

another 700 new beds to be added through expansion of fifteen facilities from 2005 to 2007.7

More than 75% of RNs believe the nursing shortage presents a major problem for the quality

of their work life and the quality of patient care8 and over 90% see it as a catalyst for increasing

stress, lowering patient care quality, and causing nurses to leave the profession.9 There are

currently over 400 LPN, RN and CNA openings in hospitals in Las Vegas.10 The 2003 Nursing

Workforce Supply and Demand in Nevada report from the High Sierra Area Health Education

Center (AHEC) estimates a need for an additional 4,707 Registered Nurses, 691 Licensed

Practical Nurses, and 2,747 Nursing Assistants from 2002-2010.

Enrollment of RN students in the three public Schools of Nursing in Las Vegas is at 1,049.

CCSN trains the most RNs of any of these institutions: 34% of all the State RN programs, and

52% of the three southern Nevada public Schools of Nursing students.11 CCSN graduated 223

RNs in 2005-2006, far below the capacity needed to produce 837 new Nurses needed annually.12

The Practical Nursing student enrollment is significantly lower with only 29 new students

accepted annually and CCSN provides the only LPN training program in southern Nevada.

CCSN enrolled over 550 Nursing Assistant students in the last year.

CCSN has experienced unprecedented student population growth, more than doubling to

36,000 students in ten years, creating major staff, faculty, space and equipment capacity

constraints. CCSN has taken a number of steps to increase enrollment to meet the healthcare

workforce demand. A new 85,400 square foot Health Sciences building opened in Fall 2005

7 Nevada Healthcare Growth, www.nvnurses.com/healthcare_growth.php8 Buerhaus, Peter, Nursing Economic$, March-April 20059 Nursing’s Agenda for the Future 2002, American Nurses Association10 Survey of job openings on hospital websites by CCSN Health Sciences staff11 2005 Survey of Registered Nurses in Nevada, Medical Education Council of Nevada, University of Nevada School of Medicine12 Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation, Occupational Projections 2002-2012


with capital funds available only for buildings from the Nevada State Legislature, expanded

Nursing program capacity from three to eight labs including three simulation labs, faculty offices

from 28 to 47, and added eight classrooms, four lecture halls and a computer classroom. New

teaching methodologies including distance learning and part-time, weekend and evening classes

have also enabled increased enrollment. CCSN exceeded the unfunded mandate of AB378

enacted by the State Legislature to double RN student enrollment from 2002 to 2005. To do this

CCSN had to “carve out” funding from other instructional areas to expand equipment and

faculty. The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) recently proposed a new mandate to

double Nursing enrollment by 2012 and it certainly is needed. However, the Schools of Nursing

have collectively lobbied the Board of Regents that we will be unable to meet this mandate

without significant increased funding for faculty, faculty salaries, salary equity for existing

faculty, space, and equipment.

Training Capacity Constraints: In Fall 2004 and Spring 2005, of the 153 students qualified for

the limited entry Practical Nursing (one-year Certificate degree) program, only 29 students were

accepted; of the 284 qualified students for the RN Associate Degree program, only 110 were

accepted. The doors were closed to these students because there was ere not of a critical

shortage of qualified faculty, clinical sites, and classroom space.

Clinical Sites: There are nine Schools of Nursing competing for clinical rotation in southern

Nevada: three State public Schools of Nursing, one out-of-state school, and five proprietary

schools. This has created a serious bidding war for limited clinical rotation sites due to the State

regulated eight-to-one ratio of students to faculty, which requires large numbers of faculty for

our 532 RN and 29 LPN students. Specialty practices, such as pediatrics may require a nursing

instructor/preceptor to supervise only six students.


Faculty Shortage: More than a third (38.8%) of Nursing schools nationwide pointed to faculty

shortages as the major reason for not accepting all qualified applicants.13 Currently in Las Vegas

there are only 360 Nurse Practitioners with Master’s degrees in Nursing (MSN)14 severely

limiting the pool for faculty recruitment. Recruitment of faculty is still very difficult as MSN’s

can earn $80,697 working at a hospital emergency department15 compared to the $58,000

average salary for a CCSN professor. The Nevada Board of Nurses recently eased the

requirements for qualifications of community college Nursing faculty. The Board can waive the

Master’s requirements for 25% of faculty positions in associate degree and licensed practical

nurse programs.

Physical Space and Facilities: Even with the opening of the new Health Sciences building, after

doubling Nursing enrollment in the last 3 years, the space capacity for classrooms is maxed out

and additional classrooms are desperately needed to increase enrollment.

Linkages to Key Partners: CCSN has formed the Nursing Education Strategic Initiative

(NESI) consisting of all the key partners required to develop a strong and collaborative plan of

action for increasing nursing enrollment, to provide information on local workforce needs,

incorporate business and demand perspective into issue identification, develop solutions, and

provide commitments of resources to resolve the capacity challenges. The NESI will serve as a

permanent forum to develop evidence-based policy measures to address current and future

capacities in nursing care through grassroots advocacy to educate the nursing community, major

healthcare stakeholders and community leaders about the current demand and needs.

NESI Objectives

13 American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2001 Enrollments and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs14 Nevada Department of Training & Rehabilitation, Nevada Workforce Informer15 Recommendations of the AFT(American Federation of Teachers) Nurse Faculty Shortage Task Force


1. Develop actions and strategies relevant to staff, space, scholarship, and recruitment to

enable the CCSN School of Nursing to expand capacity for future nursing enrollment,

increase qualified faculty, and improve the quality of nursing education and practice.

2. Provide guidance to CCSN School of Nursing to determine current and projected supply

and demand for Nurses, to target resources to better meet the workforce demand.

3. Develop taskforces to review and develop curriculum, particularly for the clinical

simulation, preparing pre-nursing students for the realities of the profession, and

professional development for new and practicing nurses to reduce nursing attrition.

4. Develop new opportunities to improve the public image of nursing and nursing education.

5. Act as a major group force to educate and lobby the State legislature for increased

funding for nursing education programs.

6. Develop a listserv for NISE electronic mail enhanced communication.

Each of the members of NESI will contribute overall to planning, development of strategies,

and commitment of resources to increase the number of nursing professionals in Southern

Nevada. Based on their expertise each member will have specific commitments in areas such as

recruitment of nursing students and nursing faculty, curriculum and professional development,

contribution of space and faculty, and promoting Nursing profession awareness and funding.

Member commitments are as follows, supported by letters of commitment.

Southern Nevada Medical Industry Coalition (SNMIC) is a unique alliance of five sectors of

the area’s economy: healthcare professionals; medical institutions; higher education; local and

State Governments; economic development professionals; and local Chambers of Commerce. It

will serve as the lobbying and economic development representative for the project.


The Nevada Hospital Association (NHA) is a not-for-profit, statewide, professional association

representing the vast majority of Nevada's hospitals. They will assist NESI and CCSN providing

primary resources for health care advocacy, funding, and public awareness efforts, and assist

directly with the project’s nursing student recruitment, nursing faculty recruitment and

curriculum development and program implementation to increase CCSN nurse retention.

Recruiting Nevada is a Las Vegas based Recruitment Media Company to assist employers with

their recruitment needs. They will provide faculty recruitment expertise and services to include

faculty job postings on their network of employment websites.

Clark County School District will provide access to its CNA students, guidance counselors and

high school and middle school students for recruitment activities to ensure the continuum of

education from high school to community college.

Nevada Board of Nursing will assist NESI with expertise in clinical simulation development,

MSN leads for faculty recruitment, as well as lobbying for increased State funding.

Hospitals: Three Hospital Systems, Valley, HCA and St. Rose serve the southern Nevada area.

Hospitals committed to NESI include Valley Hospital Medical Center, OTHER HOSPITALS?

Valley Hospital and St. Rose Hospitals provide significant scholarships for RN students. The

hospitals will participate in development of the alternative simulation clinical experience,

developing new clinical rotation schedules and evaluating the results of the simulation

alternative, as well as initiatives for increasing Nurse faculty.

Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board will provide access to its resources for direct

training, basic skills and supportive services and lend its expertise and connections for

workforce data and reporting.


CCSN Adult Basic Education (ABE) will develop the customized curriculum for CNA and

Nursing basic education and ESL Instruction/Coaching and will recruit the appropriate

instructor. ABE program participation will develop a collaboration to promote a continuum of

education from Adult Education to postsecondary.

Partnership Management: The NESI partnership has already helped us to develop our planning

for the project and will remain as a permanent vehicle to lead us through the implementation of

industry-driven strategies, provide commitment of resources and expertise to achieve higher

levels of impact on the nursing shortage. The NESI partnership will be managed by Jan Kramer,

Director of Nursing with the assistance of project staff. A minimum of quarterly meetings will

be held with specific agenda items to gather the input and commitment of resources necessary.

Subcommittees will be developed to plan and implement the activities including marketing and

recruitment of students; faculty recruitment; simulation curriculum development and

implementation; and retention activities.

Training and Capacity Building Plan

Clinical Site Shortage Strategies: CCSN will begin the plan to reduce the clinical site shortage

in the first year by developing arrangements with clinical sites for the substitution of a portion of

the clinical onsite rotation with simulation learning. Through NESI, the hospitals have agreed to

replace 10% to 20% of clinical rotation with clinical simulation time. CCSN was one of only

eight sites selected to participate in the nationwide National League for Nursing Laerdal

Simulation Study along with such prestigious Universities as Case Western Reserve, Texas Tech

University and the Washington School of Nursing to develop and test models for nursing faculty

to use simulation in innovative ways to enhance student learning.16 Our participation enabled us

to develop a research-based teaching-leaning framework to develop nursing simulations that

16 National League of Nursing, Laerdal Simulation Study


promote realistic experience and strong learning outcomes. Results of the study revealed that

groups that used the patient simulator found the experience provided more diverse ways of

learning, had significantly higher level of satisfaction with their instructional method, and felt

significantly more self-confident in their ability to care for a postoperative client.

Simulation is a technique to replace or amplify real patient experiences with guided

experiences that replicate substantial aspects of patient practice in a fully interactive, problem

based and work-based learning approach.17 The electronic mannequin simulators such as

SimMan© breathe spontaneously, have palpable pulses, heart and lung sounds, and respond

physiologically to the administration of drugs and practice scenarios. They can be programmed

to exhibit almost any physiological symptoms of an acute care patient and complex medical

scenarios and signs of normal and dysfunctional symptoms and trauma situations with

appropriate voice patient reactions.18 These simulators can effectively immerse students in

almost any situation they might encounter in the clinical setting and many that they would rarely

encounter, enabling students to learn, practice and repeat procedures as often as necessary to

correct mistakes, fine-tune skills and optimize clinical outcomes without compromising the

safety of real patients. 19 This degree of flexibility is ethically not possible for students in the

clinical setting. David Gaba, operations director of Harvard’s Center for Medical Simulation,

predicts that “It’s only a matter of time before simulation training is first encouraged by

accrediting organizations and ultimately required by accrediting organizations.”

CCSN has three simulation labs using Laerdal SimMan, SimBaby, Vital Signs Annie, and a

birthing simulator for its required nursing labs. Each lab has a private simulation room with a

separate observation room where faculty program patient scenarios while the student practices

17 Gaba, DM, The Future Vision of Simulation in healthcare. Qual Saf Health Care 2004:13(Supl 1):i2-i1018 Laerdal SimMan, www.laerdal.com/simman/simman.html19 Patow, MD, MPH, Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare, March/April 2005, www.psqh.com/marapr05/simulation.html


interventions. The simulations are captured on live videotape so that all students in the class can

observe and participate in structured debriefing after each teaching session to review, discuss and

learn from what transpired. That kind of in-depth review is unrealistic, if not impossible, in

hospital clinical settings which are so fast-paced.

Implementation Strategy: To expand the availability of clinical practicum space, simulation

will be used as a substitute for 10% to 20% of the clinical rotation. The NESI group will assist

CCSN to negotiate with clinical sites rates of substitution at each level and for CCSN to retain

those time slots to enable increasing nursing student capacity. Other activities will include

identifying sites such as ambulatory care centers, health fairs and clinics for fundamentals

experience. In this way students learn that nursing does not just happen in hospitals.

Faculty Shortage Strategies: Working together, the faculty shortage can be eased. UNLV has a

new emphasis on increasing slots for the graduate Nursing Program which will open the door for

more locally prepared Master’s of Nursing, and Nursing Educators for faculty recruitment.

Implementation Strategy: New communities of potential faculty will be developed for

recruitment including hospitals loaning MSN prepared nurses as part-time faculty, recruiting

practicing nurses for part-time overload teaching, accessing lists of retired and near retirement

nurses to recruit for teaching, contacting large Nurse Practitioner employers like HMO clinics for

part-time faculty, as well as making early contact with UNLV MSN students to promote nursing

education as an occupation. Additionally we will concentrate on activities to “grow our own” by

identifying a core of our “best” graduates to promote movement directly to the UNLV MSN

program, developing curriculum and promotion to educate Nursing students early in their careers

about the opportunities for teaching, and creating new programs for the retention of our faculty

including transition training and mentoring.


Physical Space Strategies: We will employ creative scheduling of our labs to more fully utilize

the space that we have to enable increased enrollment, and will rent four modular units to

increase classrooms to accommodate an additional 96 RN and 30 LPN students over the next

three years, and faculty office space for six new faculty. Members of NESI are currently

reviewing their space to locate space on their campuses that we could use for instruction,

possibly negating the need for the modular units in the future. We will also convert the one lab

on the Cheyenne campus to a full simulation lab enabling those students (most classes are

located on the West Charleston campus) to utilize those facilities instead of having to come to

the other campus, and enabling the enrollment of more new students.

Student Recruitment/Direct Training Implementation Strategies: High concentration will be

placed on recruitment of the over 700 CNA students enrolled in high school and CCSN courses

each year to move them into higher levels of training such as Licensed Practical Nurse programs.

Almost all the CNA students are low-income and direct training funds will be provided to

students who wish to advance. Additional recruitment activities will be developed to target

middle and high school students, current hospital support personnel, currently practicing LPNs,

One Stop Career Center consumers, community groups, and career fairs. A CNA exam prep

seminar will also be developed to help these students achieve higher levels of exam pass rates.

Retention Implementation Strategies: Individuals choose nursing and remain in the profession

because of the opportunities for personal and professional growth, supportive work

environments, and compensation commensurate with roles and responsibilities.20 Retention is an

issue for students at the CNA, pre-Nursing and Nursing enrollment levels and also for new

graduates in first time nursing positions. The Nursing Advisor will implement a number of

contacts with students from pre-nursing to graduation, to support and increase student retention

20 Nursing’s Agenda for the Future 2002, American Nurses Association


and completion. Approximately 99% of the CNA students are low income with their training

paid through contracts with Nevada State Welfare and Nevada Department of Employment,

Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) Claimant Employment Program (CEP) funds. The high

school students are also low income and many have difficulty paying for their certification exam

and uniforms, effectively negating their employability. Many of these students also have low

basic skills and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) perhaps accounting for the dismal 50%

Certification Exam pass rates. In order to help these students be successful and ensure higher

levels of enrollment in LPN and RN programs we must make efforts to support their needs to

ensure their success including higher levels of ESL and basic skills instruction and coaching.

First Job Experiences of Recent RN Graduates conducted by the UNLV School of Nursing

reveals that 30% of Nurses leave their first position after one year and 57% after two years. The

answer to the nursing shortage will not be accomplished through preparation of new nurses

alone; we must also must direct attention to the high rate of attrition. As educators we have an

obligation to ensuring that our students understand the commitment they are making, early on,

and that the realities of the nursing profession are stressed throughout their training to ensure that

they are well prepared and have the commitment to the profession. A timeline with specific

activities for the Clinical, Faculty, Space, Recruitment and Retention activities is included in the

Appendix.

Direct Training Outcomes, Benefits and Impact

CCSN is an approved School of Nursing by the Nevada Board of Nursing. Its Associate

Degree RN and LPN Certificate of Achievement, qualify as the required graduation from an

approved School of Nursing along with passing the NCLEX licensing examination to be a

licensed Nurse in the State of Nevada; and for Certified Nursing Assistants the CCSN CNA


Certificate qualifies as the successful completion of a state-approved training program required

for eligibility to take the examination and to grant permanent certification.

Outcome CNACurrent/increase

LPNCurrent/increase

RNCurrent/increase

Data Collection/ Evaluation

Increased Enrollment

500/30 29/30 532/96 Student Information System (SIS)

Completion/ Graduation

580/80% 60/90% 223/95% SIS

Licensure/Certification

50%/70% 80%/90% 86.7%/95% Nevada Board of Nursing

Entered Employment

80% 98% 98% Nursing Data System

Retain Employment

70% 75% 57%/70% Nursing Data System

Products CNA Exam Prep program; ESL and Basic Skills Curriculum

Retention, Professional Development Curriculum

Retention, Professional Development CurriculumMaster’s Advancement program

Records of student attendance in workshops, club activities, enrollment in Master’s program

Clinical Site Capacity Impact: Substitution of 10% clinical simulation and 20% in Years 2 and

3 will increase the number of students we can accept by 96 RN and 30 LPN students.

Faculty Shortage Strategy Impact: Nursing Faculty will increase by six in three years, and a

new faculty transition training and mentoring program will be developed.

Physical Space Strategy Impact: Modular units will increase classroom space but it is

expected that NESI members currently investigating space, will find additional classroom space.

Program Management: The project will be managed cooperatively between CCSN and NESI.

Hyla Winters, Dean of Health Sciences will have overall responsibility for the outcomes of the

project, ensuring that the resources and activities are developed to reach the project objectives.


She will devote a minimum of 10% time to the project, provided as leveraged resources. Hyla

Winters obtained a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Texas Women’s

University and a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Record Administration from the University of

Illinois. She is currently working on her Doctoral degree in Higher Education Leadership at

UNLV. She has served as a Professor and Chair of Health Information Technology, and the

Associate Dean of Health Sciences for the past thirteen years at CCSN, before ascending to the

Dean of Health Sciences in July of 2006.

She will be assisted by Jan Kramer, Director of Nursing who will devote 25% time to

directly manage the program, supervise project staff, work with NESI for recruitment of

financial and other resources and involving them in all stages of program development including

the development of the clinical simulation programs, faculty recruitment and development,

Nurse recruitment and retention programs. She will review curriculum being developed to ensure

that it is comprehensive and meeting the educational objectives. Jan Kramer has a Master of

Science in Nursing, Education Track from the University of Akron, Ohio, and a Bachelor of

Science in Nursing, cum laude from Ursiline College in Ohio. She is currently a Doctoral

Candidate in Higher Education Administration from Indiana State University with an anticipated

graduation date of December, 2006. She joined CCSN as Director of Nursing in February 2006

coming from Indiana where she served Indiana Vocational Technical College, Ivy Tech State

College, Community College of Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College in roles as varied as

faculty, program chair of Nursing programs, and Statewide Nursing Administrator.

Staffing will include two Advisor/Recruiters who will spend 100% of time on the project.

The Advisor/Recruiter will conduct all recruitment activities, develop procedures and implement

Nursing orientations, provide intrusive counseling to pre-Nursing and Nursing students, assess


and arrange basic skills preparation and tutoring, and provide regular information sessions on

Nursing careers to ensure students have the support to ensure a higher level of entry and

retention into LPN and RN programs. Qualifications for the Advisor/Recruiter will be a

minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, with recruitment, promotion and administrative

experience in a healthcare setting or a College School of Nursing.

A Faculty Recruiter will spend 100% time to develop all the activities, promotional materials,

and conduct presentations and recruitment with selected groups to recruit the required faculty

and increase the number of students who choose Nursing Education as a career. The Faculty

Recruiter will develop transition training and mentorship programs to ensure new faculty hired

will be welcomed and able to immerse into the CCSN culture as quickly and smoothly as

possible, ensuring higher rates of employee satisfaction and retention. The Faculty Recruiter

qualifications include a minimum of a Nursing Bachelor’s degree with experience as College

teaching faculty, and experience in recruitment and promotion highly preferable.

The full-time Assistant Lab Manager will assist with the development of the equipment,

curriculum, and scenario development for the Clinical Simulation practicum experiences. This

position will require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree preferably in Nursing, with experience in

simulation equipment, the functions, purchase and maintenance of Nursing lab equipment. The

part-time ESL instructor will be selected from the College’s Adult Basic Education instructors

who are experts in basic skills and ESL instruction with years of experience.

Ruth Politi, currently a Nursing Professor for Touro College, and former faculty and

Coordinator of the Laerdal Simulation Study at CCSN will act as the consultant for the clinical

practicum simulation alternative curriculum and faculty training. She has a Master’s of Nursing

from UNLV and many years of Clinical Research and Nursing instruction.


Organization Capacity: Founded in 1971, the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN)

is the fastest growing and 3rd largest single college, multi-campus community college in the

nation. Student enrollment at CCSN has increased 107% since 1994 to over 36,000 students in

Fall 2006, keeping pace with the fastest growing city in the United States. Every career and

technical education program has a Joint Technical Skills Committee composed of business &

industry, secondary education and community college representatives that provide strong

strategic partnerships to advise on curriculum, equipment, and strategies to meet career demand.

CCSN is an approved School of Nursing by the Nevada Board of Nursing, accredited by the

National League of Nursing Accreditation Commission and provides Registered Nurse Associate

degrees, Licensed Practical Nurse Certificates of Achievement and Certified Nursing Assistant

certificates which are required by the Board of Nursing for licensure and certification. Our

Nursing students have a high rate of success with 86.78% first time test takers achieving

certification or licensure and over 90% achieving licensure on taking the test again. Virtually

100% are placed in jobs within six months of program completion. For years the School of

Nursing Advisory Board has involved the representatives from all the clinical sites, directors of

Nursing, and the State Board of Nursing in curriculum development, student and faculty

recruitment. Its School of Nursing has doubled its RN enrollment over the past three years

through innovative practices to impact the nursing shortage. Currently 532 RN students are

registered i and over 220 Nurses graduated in 2005-2006, the most of any program in the state.

The Office of Resource Development provides oversight for programmatic compliance of

grant programs. The College Grants & Contracts Manager maintains account management for

all grant funds and conducts financial oversight and drawdown of funds. A separate account is

setup for the project to maintain its individual budget and financial information and the


authorized budget is the basis for all expenditures. Accounting procedures are in conformance

with federal, state, and Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) regulations and principles.

CCSN has solid experience with the management of grants including the Carl D. Perkins

Vocational and Technical Act, Tech Prep, and Adult Basic Education formula funds programs,

DOL High Growth Job Training Initiative, U.S. Department of Education TRIO and CCAMPIS

and National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education grants.

The College Office of Institutional Research & Planning will collect required project data

from the College Student Information System (SIS) through mid semester, end of semester and

yearly data collection with certification and licensure pass rates obtained from the Nevada Board

of Nursing. The Nursing program has a highly developed database system that will be upgraded

in this project, to record all student information from enrollment, grades, graduation, licensure

and certification, and job placement and retention. The project will use all data to assess and

make program improvements. Nursing staff conduct the follow-up necessary to collect data for

the Common Measures.

Plan for Sustainability: The supplies, travel and equipment budgeted for the CGJT grant are

one time expenses for the development of systems, not operating or ongoing support. State

operating and staff funding is based on the previous biennium FTE enrollment (the State

Legislature meets only once every two years). With the increase in FTE we will receive

additional State funding by 2009 enabling us to continue the positions and achieve self-

sufficiency of the project capacity building and training activities. The NESI forum will

continue as a permanent vehicle to function as the advisory and advocacy board for the CCSN

School of Nursing to enable us to continue the strong partnerships and resources developed

under the grant. We expect that as the program and activities prove the benefit to the hospitals


and healthcare organizations we will realize additional commitments, due to the increased

production of nurses, easing their need for outside recruitment. The lessons learned from the

project will serve us well with the leadership of NESI to guide our future training and capacity

building development.

The curriculum for the basic skills and customized ESL will be incorporated into the program

and continue to be carried out through the Adult Basic Education program. The other curriculum

for student recruitment, retention, faculty transition and first year Nurse retention will become

part of the Nursing program and carried out through the Advisor positions supported by

increased FTE State funding. The capital plan for Health Sciences from 2004 to 2010 included

the new Health Sciences building that was completed in Fall 2005 with plans for a Phase II

expansion which is expected to be approved by the Board of Regents and the Legislature in 2009

for opening in 2010, which will relieve some of our space capacity constraints.

Nursing faculty will be offered opportunities to present at national Nursing conferences to

share our models and materials developed for faculty recruitment, curriculum, and training

design for broad dissemination and replication by other community colleges. CCSN has a new

policy to pay full reimbursement for any faculty presenting at conferences which will enable us

to increase our regional and national participation in forums where we can share our outcomes

and receive additional professional development after the grant ends. CCSN will also participate

in Workforce3One to gain information from other workforce training programs, learn new

strategies that we can incorporate into our program, and to share our practices and models for

broad dissemination.

At present, CCSN has no manufacturing degree or certificate program. This grant is needed to

work with employers for equipment and articulation of the actual degree program needed to


sustain their operations and to attract new industries to Nevada. It is envisioned that CCSN will

seek equipment and facilities from the manufacturing community to deliver this new degree

which will sustain their employment and wage progression needs long after the grant period.

Integrating the Project into Regional Economic Development Strategies: The Nevada

DeDevelopment Authority (NDA), the statewide economic development entity, published the

Las Vegas Region Comprehensive Labor Report which recommended the formation of a Medical

Industry Coalition to act as the economic development arm for the healthcare workforce, and

develop strategies and new partnerships to help the economically vital medical and healthcare

industry. Its involvement in NESI will ensure the alignment of our educational strategies to the

healthcare industry economic development activities, connecting us more closely to economic

development and legislative efforts, assist with the recruitment of nursing students through its

website and Recruitment subcommittee, and lobbying efforts for Nursing education. CCSN has

served on the Southern Nevada Medical Industry Coalition since its inception with the President

of CCSN, Dr. Richard Carpenter, serving on the SNMIC Board and Dean of Health Sciences

Hyla Winters on the Education Committee. Director of Nursing, Jan Kramer serves on the

Recruitment Committee and Sue Folds, Workforce Specialist, CCSN Workforce and Economic

Development Division serves on the Government Committee. Their direct involvement on the

SNMIC will enable a strong collaboration and implementation of activities to strengthen the

economic development of the healthcare industry.

The CCSN School of Nursing and NESI will have a broad impact on serving the economic

needs of the healthcare profession, where total operating expenses at Nevada’s 29 general

medical and surgical hospitals was $2.736 billion and total operating revenue was $2.796 billion


with over $378.7 million in construction and other capital improvements in 2004.21 CCSN’s

ability to provide Nurses and other allied health professionals will be critical to the economic

development of this sector with Nevada hospital employment projected to increase by over

11,000 employees from 2002 to 2012.

Integrating Workforce Investment Act Resources: CCSN has a strong relationship with the

Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board (SNWIB) having provided the location for the

One-Stop Center for the first three years. Our Workforce and Economic Development Division

Dean and the President of CCSN serve as members on the SNWIB Board of Directors, and

CCSN is the WIA postsecondary education required partner in the One Stop Career System.

The SNWIB has committed to participation in NESI and connecting us to the resources of the

One Stop service providers for WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Services, providing

assistance with recruitment, identifying, assessing and referring candidates for training, training

funds and wraparound supportive services for qualified individuals, placing workers in jobs and

assist with the collection and reporting of data to the Common Measures. CCSN is an approved

State training provider and provides training to over 200 WIA consumers each year.

While the accounts do not currently exist, the SNWIB has committed to researching the

Career Advancement Accounts to potentially pilot the provision of these funds for advancing

incumbent CNAs and other health organization employees through enrollment in our LPN

program, and to assist current LPN incumbent workers to advance to RN status through our LPN

to RN Bridge program. CCSN and NESI will work with the local employers to secure the

employer training funding for the Career Advancement Accounts.

21 Packham, J and T Harris. 2005. The Contribution of Hospitals to the Nevada Economy, University Center for Economic Development, University of Nevada, Reno.


Documents

Project Narrative