Project Grant 23A60HG000005

CITY COLLEGE, AN EMBEDDED TWO-YEAR INSTITUTION AT MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BILLINGS LOCATED IN BILLINGS, MONTANA, REQUESTS FUNDING THROUGH THE NURSING EXPANSION GRANT PROGRAM NURSING CAREER PATHWAYS TRACK TO EXPAND AND DIVERSIFY THE EXISTING REGISTERED NURSE (RN) AND LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE (LPN) WORKFORCE IN RURAL EASTERN AND SOUTH-CENTRAL MONTANA. CITY COLLEGE ALREADY OFFERS HIGH QUALITY RN (ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE) AND LPN (CERTIFICATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE) DEGREES WITH OVER 90 OF PROGRAM GRADUATES PASSING THE NCLEX EXAM ON THEIR FIRST TRY.THE TARGET REGION OF THE RURAL EASTERN MONTANA NURSING EXPANSION PROGRAM (REMNEP) ENCOMPASSES TWENTY-FOUR COUNTIES AND 63,332 SQUARE MILES. COUNTIES TO BE SERVED INCLUDE: SHERIDAN, DANIELS, VALLEY, ROOSEVELT, FERGUS, PETROLEUM, GARFIELD, MCCONE, RICHLAND, DAWSON, PRAIRIE, WIBAUX, GOLDEN VALLEY, MUSSELSHELL, TREASURE, ROSEBUD, CUSTER, FALLON, STILLWATER, CARBON, YELLOWSTONE, BIG HORN, POWDER RIVER, AND CARTER. DESPITE ITS GEOGRAPHICAL SIZE, ONLY SIX TOWNS IN THE TARGET AREA HAVE POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 5,000 (SIDNEY, MILES CITY, BILLINGS, LEWISTOWN, LAUREL, LOCKWOOD). THIS PROJECT RESPONDS TO SHORTAGES IN THE RURAL HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE BY EXPANDING THE CAPACITY OF CITY COLLEGE TO RECRUIT, TRAIN, AND GRADUATE RURAL EASTERN MONTANA STUDENTS WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMETOWNS TO WORK. REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL PARTNERS WILL BE KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT AS THEY WILL PROVIDE A RANGE OF SERVICES INCLUDING: PARTICIPANT REFERRALS, SUPPORTIVE SERVICES TO PARTICIPANTS, SPACE FOR A PROJECT NAVIGATOR TO WORK WITH PARTICIPANTS, EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, AND CLINICAL SITES. REQUIRED PARTNERS INCLUDE JOB SERVICE CENTERS IN THE TOWNS OF SIDNEY, WOLF POINT, AND BILLINGS HEALTHCARE PARTNERS ST. VINCENT HEALTHCARE SERVICES, SIDNEY HEALTH CENTER, RIVERSTONE HEALTH, MCCONE COUNTY HEALTH CENTER, PRAIRIE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, GARFIELD COUNTY HEALTH CENTER, GLENDIVE MEDICAL CENTER, AND FALLON MEDICAL COMPLEX DISTRICT AND THE MONTANA NURSES ASSOCIATION. OPTIONAL PARTNERS INCLUDE DISTRICT 7 HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (HRDC), DISTRICT 6 HRDC, AND DAWSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE. THE REMNEP PROJECT IS REQUESTING 1,948,894 IN FEDERAL FUNDING WITH A TOTAL PROPOSED MATCH OF 389,879. THIS FUNDING WILL ALLOW THE PROJECT TO SERVE A TOTAL OF 300 PARTICIPANTS FROM RURAL AND LOW-INCOME BACKGROUNDS FROM EASTERN MONTANA OVER THE COURSE OF THE GRANT PERIOD, WILL INCREASE CITY COLLEGES TRAINING CAPACITY BY 25 , AND WILL ESTABLISH OR STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS WITH RURAL HOSPITALS, INCREASING AVAILABLE PRECEPTORSHIPS AND CLINICAL SITES. GOALS AND SERVICES OF THE PROJECT WILL BE: GOAL 1: BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT. GOAL 2: GROW CITY COLLEGES WORKER CENTERED PARTNERSHIPS IN RURAL EASTERNMONTANA. THE PROJECT DIRECTOR WILL NETWORK WITH EXISTING CLINICAL SITES TO INCREASECAPACITY FOR STUDENTS AND WILL CULTIVATE NEW CLINICAL SITES AT PARTNER RURAL HOSPITALS. GOAL 3: IMPLEMENT A SUSTAINABLE STUDENT SUPPORTIVE SERVICE STRATEGY FOR RURALNURSING STUDENTS. GOAL 4: INCREASE CITY COLLEGES ENROLLMENT OF UNDERSERVED RURAL NURSING STUDENTS. PROJECT STAFF WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH CLINICAL SITES AND LOCAL AGENCIES SUCH AS HRDC AND JOB SERVICE TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS. THE NAVIGATOR AND DIRECTOR WILL HAVE A ROTATING VISITATION SCHEDULE TO COUNTY HRDC JOB SERVICE CENTER COMMUNITY AND TRIBAL COLLEGES IN ORDER TO MEET INDIVIDUALLY WITH POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS AND BUILD RELATIONS WITHPARTNER STAFF. GOAL 5: INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF CITY COLLEGE NURSING PROGRAMS. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE EXISTING PROGRAMS IN THE FORM OF A SIMULATION FACULTY MEMBER TO GIVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE SIMULATION EXPERIENCE, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF AVAILABLE SIMULATION LABS, DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL CLINICAL SITES FOR BOTH LPN AND RN STUDENTS, AND INCREASING THE NUMBER OF PRECEPTORS AVAILABLE AT PARTNERING CLINICAL SITES.