October 13, 2004
Grant to Prepare Native American and Hispanic Students in Yakima for Nursing Careers
Spokane, Wash. – The Washington State University Intercollegiate College of Nursing has been awarded a $739,360 grant for ALCANCE II: Reaching the Reservation, a project to increase numbers of Native American and Hispanic nurses serving in the Yakima Valley.
The two-year grant, awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration, is a continuation of the $474,000 ALCANCE I grant awarded in 2001. Phase II will further increase nursing workforce diversity in the rural medically underserved Yakima Valley of Washington state by providing nursing education opportunities for minority individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.
ALCANCE I (Assist Latino Community to Attain Nursing Career Employment—or “reach” in Spanish) created a pipeline for disadvantages minority students that began in high school and culminated in graduation from the baccalaureate (BSN) program of the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing Yakima campus. Five ALCANCE nursing students have graduated with their BSN and 10 more students are in the process of completing their baccalaureate degree. Two students will graduate in December, with seven more expected to graduate in May 2005.
Early interest and entry to the pipeline is a key component of the ALCANCE program. A pre-nursing retention and recruitment coordinator from the College of Nursing Yakima campus will work closely with a Yakama Nations recruitment coordinator as a team creating a visible presence in the Hispanic and Native American communities.
Entry to the Phase II pipeline, which adds in a Native American focus on students with Yakama Nation heritage, is through the Haima School District and the Hispanic Academic Achievement Program (HAAP), the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing’s Native American Recruitment and Retention Program for middle and high school students, Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic—the largest community/migrant health center on the west coast— and Yakama Indian Health Services for clinic employees or community members interested in nursing.
“We expect these strategies will result in a “critical mass” of Hispanic and American Indian nurses who, with the continued assistance of the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing, can step into the nursing profession prepared to work with their own populations and serve as role models and mentors for minority students in nursing,” said Phyllis Eide, assistant professor and ALCANCE II project administrator.
Phase II goals include continuing current grant services for an additional two years in order to serve pre-nursing and nursing students already in the pipeline at the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing Yakima campus, strengthen grant services targeting American Indian students through the addition of an on-site recruiter in the schools immediately adjacent to the Yakama Reservation, the Yakama Cultural Broker Program for high school students interested in nursing, and provision of pre-nursing student stipends (up to $1,500 per semester or $3,000 per year) for qualified Native American students. The Hispanic Health Care Broker class for Hispanic/bilingual high school students will continue to teach medical interpretation skills.
Established in 1968, the Washington State University Intercollegiate College of Nursing is the nation's first, oldest and most comprehensive nursing education consortium. Celebrating 35 years of world class nursing education, the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing offers baccalaureate, graduate and professional development course work to nursing students enrolled through its four consortium partners: Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, WSU and Whitworth College. Each year the college educates more than 700 graduate and upper-division undergraduate students and prepares more entry-level nurses than any other state educational institution. For more information about the College of Nursing visit the Web site at nursing.wsu.edu.