Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention - Workforce Expansion Program - Abstract Project Director: Paula Roth, MSN Ed., RN Project Title: Increasing the Nursing Workforce in Baraga County Applicant Name: Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College Address: 770 N. Main St., L’Anse, MI 49946 Phone: (906) 524-8304 Email: proth@kbocc.edu Project Period: September 30, 2024, through September 29, 2028 This application requests support for our Associate of Science Degree, Nursing program at Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC), located in the Western area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to meet the current and continuing demand for Registered Nurses (RNs) in Baraga and surrounding counties. Given the need for RNs in rural and underserved areas, as well as policy changes regarding increased RN staffing requirements being proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), it is more critical than ever to recruit and retain nursing students and staff in these critical areas. The shortage of RNs in rural and underserved areas of America is great. This shortage is a trend that threatens to decrease access to quality health care in areas that often have higher rates of chronic disease and limited access to healthcare services which increases the demand for healthcare providers, including nurses, who can address these needs. While the need for nurses is great across the country, the need in rural Michigan is especially pressing. A 2020 Survey of Michigan Nurses found that of the 36,617 RNs surveyed, only 927 or 2.5% of them were working in the Upper Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a rural, medically underserved area. Of the 14 counties, all (100%) are considered medically underserved. Baraga County specifically was denoted as a county with a high score when it came to Health Status indicators and Social Determinant of Health Indicators. Also, while Baraga County has a high percentage of individuals who graduate high school, 39.2%, those that go on to higher education is only 10.8% or lower. This is largely due to our rural location, poor socioeconomic status and the distance required to travel to institutions of higher education. This application will meet the goals of the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention (NEPQR) – Workforce Expansion Program (WEP) by: 1) improving pathways to obtaining a nursing degree that will expand our current nursing workforce in acute and long-term care, 2) increasing financial support for nursing students, and 3) provide continuing educational opportunities for those nurses already working within our community to become preceptors and nursing faculty. Most of our current student body has stated their willingness to work as an RN in our area. Most of them are life-long residents and are trying to find opportunities for employment that will improve their current socioeconomic status and improve the lives of their families.
