Saturday, April 5, 2025
4/5/2025
Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention - Workforce Expansion Program - Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Nursing (SON) requests funding to develop and implement the OHSU Rural Nursing Scholars (ORNS) Program, an innovative model for rural undergraduate nursing education that partners with rural and frontier community hospitals, critical access hospitals, and long-term care facilities (LTC) in Oregon to expand and improve the nursing workforce. The purpose of ORNS is to increase the number of nursing students prepared to provide safe, high-quality, and equitable healthcare in acute care and long-term care settings in rural (non-metro) underserved Oregon communities. Funding priorities are requested as Oregon is a state with greatest nursing shortage and OHSU is a public university. A funding preference is requested because ORNS will substantially benefit rural populations. Objective 1. Recruit, enroll, retain, and graduate 33% additional baccalaureate nursing students from OHSU SON La Grande (LG) and Klamath Falls (KF) Campuses by increasing the number of students from 24 to 32 on each campus by Spring 2028. This objective will be accomplished by recruiting students with rural backgrounds and/or those committed to careers in acute and/or LTC in rural underserved areas. Selected Scholars will receive scholarships and stipends and academic and social support to support retention. Objective 2. Provide at least 80 hours of supplemental specialized education in acute and LTC to 12-16 baccalaureate nursing students (total 58 awards for 34 students) across OHSU LG and KF campuses each year of the grant period. An Advisory Council of nurse leaders in rural underserved communities will participate in planning innovative clinical learning activities that emphasize acute and LTC competencies in the 3-year Bachelor of Science curriculum. Two tracks (junior and senior starts) will maximize the impact of the program. A transitional care model will support knowledge, skills, and abilities specific to rural acute and LTC settings. Objective 3. Increase the number of baccalaureate prepared nurse graduates from OHSU SON employed in rural acute and LTC settings from 55-73% to 85% by Spring 2028. The SON will partner with the Office of Rural Health (ORH) and Oregon Area Health Education Centers (OAHEC) to identify rural job opportunities and recruit graduates to those positions. Scholars will learn the self-sufficiency required to practice in rural underserved acute/LTC settings. Students from more urban SON campuses will participate in the program in the final year and be recruited into rural nursing practice. Objective 4. Expand existing partnerships and clinical placement capacity in rural/underserved areas by adding 14 new clinical preceptors and 4 new clinical faculty across the LG and KF Campuses by Fall 2026. Student placements will be expanded in critical access hospitals in rural and frontier counties. Partners will play an active role in identifying best practices to prepare students for practice in rural underserved acute/LTC settings. On-site and virtual simulation experiences will be developed to provide clinical training to Scholars and preceptors that integrate the unique social determinants of health (SDOH) and transitional care needs of rural underserved populations across settings and communities. The ORNS team will collaborate with ORH, OHSU Campus for Rural Health (CRH), and Oregon AHEC to develop infrastructure and support student readiness to practice in rural interprofessional care teams. Clinical priorities addressed by ORNS include telehealth, rural health, opioids/substance use disorder, and value-based care. The ORNS project will focus activities on rural La Grande and Klamath Falls campuses initially with expansion to Ashland, Monmouth, and Portland campuses in the final year to replicate and sustain programmatic strategies across the SON beyond the grant period.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).