CROWN POINT, Ind. – The University of Saint Francis Crown Point will receive a valuable federal grant through Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Diversity in Nursing to help nurses build a culture of health and promote health equity.
USF Crown Point is one of eight schools participating in the Indiana Center for Nursing’s Nursing Education and Engagement in Diversity Statewide 2B (NEEDS2B) Program.
The Indiana Center for Nursing (ICN) will receive $2,189,646 over the next four years to support the program. The grantees were selected based on submissions of replicable strategies that help nurses build a culture of health and promote health equity and well-being, while highlighting the importance of collaboration with diverse stakeholders.
The USF nursing program is a long-term member of the ICN. Over the last several years, USF has served on the Nursing Education and Engagement in Diversity Statewide task force, which developed toolkits for nursing education programs with a focus on holistic admission practices, pairing students up with mentors, and training faculty.
“This work is in keeping with our Franciscan values, one of which is to ‘Reverence the Unique Dignity of Each Person,’” said USF Crown Point Nursing Program Director Margaret DeYoung, MS, RN, CNS. “This grant award is timely in today’s social environment and will afford USF Crown Point the opportunity to support individuals from underrepresented minorities, in real time, as they progress through the nursing program. Diversity in our graduates will contribute to diversity and inclusion in the Indiana nursing workforce.”
The other schools in the program are Anderson University, Goshen College, Indiana University East, Indiana University Purdue University Columbus, Indiana Wesleyan University, Purdue University, and the University of Southern Indiana. In addition, Community Health Network will join the program.
Through the grant, each school will work collaboratively to achieve the following NEEDS2B Program goals:
- Increase diversity and inclusion in the Indiana nursing workforce by implementing the objectives that include scholarships and stipends for students accepted into the program; holistic review and admissions to the school of nursing, mentoring programs; faculty recruitment and retention of diverse faculty; increased percentage of enrollment; retention and graduation of diverse students; and inclusion of cultural intelligence education.
- Expand implementation of the current mentoring programs of the schools.
- Address social determinates of health and education through a collaborative partnership representing academia, practice, and the community at large.
“We are honored to be selected for this prestigious grant and look forward to building on our work to create replicable strategies that help nurses build a culture of health and promote health equity and well-being,” said Kimberly Harper, MS, RN, FAAN, CEO, Indiana Center for Nursing. “The work we are doing to transform the diversity, inclusion and equity within the Indiana nursing workforce will improve health and health care for everyone. We are grateful to HRSA for selecting ICN and our statewide partners for this grant opportunity.”
The goal for this four-year award is to assist in the creation of replicable programs that diversify the nursing workforce and improve healthcare equity across all sectors, while highlighting the importance of collaboration with diverse stakeholders of all types.
For more information on the USF Crown Point nursing program, contact Margaret DeYoung at 219-488-8888, ext. 5425 or mdeyoung@sf.edu.
University of Saint Francis Crown Point is a regional site of the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind., a private Catholic university in the Franciscan tradition. USF Crown Point makes academic excellence and a values-based education available to Northwest Indiana-area students. Among its programs are many healthcare-related majors, including nursing, surgical technology, radiologic technology and medical laboratory technician. The associate of liberal studies degree includes student-designed concentrations.