Cuesta is Recipient of Five Year Nursing Grant

Cuesta’s Nursing/Allied Health Department has received a portion of a $30 million grant from a state-sponsored nursing program.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the grant last month, and for Cuesta, the money comes as part of a collaborative effort with four other community colleges. The funds are being funneled through Schwarzenegger’s Nurse Education Initiative program, which seeks to address California’s chronic nursing shortage.

Along with Cuesta, the other colleges – Ventura, Moorepark, Santa Barbara and Allen Hancock – made up one applicant region. This region will now receive a total of $2.75 million, breaking down to $550,000 over the next five years, with Cuesta garnering $81,000 for each of those years. In addition, Cuesta garnered a one-time only $125,000 to purchase skills lab equipment, and will also receive $20,000 per year, also for five years, to develop online nursing courses. Nursing is planning to use some of the funds to increase student retention, and to that end, is hiring a case manager. Schwarzenegger’s grant also has been beefed up with matching funds from several Central Coast hospitals. Each college in the region provided matching funds as well.

“We knew we had a very strong project [to present],” says Dr. Mary Parker, Director of Nursing/AH. “The fact that it was collaborative made it very marketable. The grant is a good example of how we would not have been able to get the money on our own.”

It is anticipated that the total state grant funds will train about 2,500 new nurses by the end of five years.