Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - Morehead State University sits right in the heart of Appalachia and seeks funding to replenish, upgrade, and expand nursing, imaging science, and kinesiology/exercise science and pre-physical therapy equipment, classrooms and labs to educate a competitive workforce of nurses and health care professionals. This request aligns with several governmental agency goals and priorities in our region. Funding for requested items would provide future RNs and other health care professionals with needed clinical skills in a high-tech, digital healthcare arena. Nursing students and others need to practice with modern equipment used in hospitals across the Commonwealth. Receiving this funding would enable the university to update the lab equipment to reflect what is seen in clinical practice so students can “hit the ground running” upon hire in a multitude of different health care organizations in Appalachia Kentucky and beyond. In one of its recent reports, the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education (CPE) projected that from 2018 to 2022, there will be over 23,000 healthcare related job openings in Kentucky that require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Thus, the CPE has made it a priority to increase the number of Kentuckians graduating with healthcare credentials. Morehead State University joins them in that effort, as we seek to send highly qualified graduates from our nursing programs into Appalachian Kentucky. However, the providers of higher education for health care professions need resources to support their mission. Maintaining a pipeline of well-trained healthcare workers is essential for the Appalachian region. Healthcare jobs are important for the economic well-being of the region, as these represent some of the better paying areas of employment. Employment in healthcare represents career opportunities that are stable—these are the jobs that will likely be around for generations to come in Appalachian Kentucky and the people who fill these jobs provide essential services to the region’s population.
