IHC funds WSU nursing program

Intermountain Health Care is donating more than $1 million to Weber State University to help alleviate a nursing shortage.

The money will go toward training 150 additional registered nurses; another $100,000 IHC gift will go to WSU's Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, the university announced this week.

By 2020, the country is expected to have 20 percent too few nurses, WSU reported. The nursing shortage in Utah, though less pronounced, is not for lack of interest.

"One of the major challenges in Utah is that many qualified applicants for nursing school are turned down because the programs don't have the capacity for more students," Nancy Woods-Kershner, RN, chief nursing officer for McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, said in a prepared statement.

"This donation will help address that problem by allowing more teaching staff to be added to the Weber State program. Rather than wait until the nursing shortage becomes a crisis in Utah, we've taken steps to be proactive."

WSU expects to be able to admit 20 additional associate degree nursing students in August and 10 more in January 2006 under the grant.

Other colleges receiving similar grants are the College of Eastern Utah, BYU, Dixie State College, Salt Lake Community College, Southern Utah University, Westminster College and Utah Valley State College.

The grants are expected to help Utah colleges produce more than 600 additional nursing graduates over the next five years.