Nursing Scholarship/Loan Program Guidelines 2019-2020

The 2019-2020 Nursing Application will be open April 15, 2019 – June 1, 2019. You can access the online application by visiting www.wvcenterfornursing.org or visiting www.cfwv.com under Financial Aid Planning>Find Scholarships. Follow us on Twitter for scholarship and program updates at @WVcentr4nursing.

Students must be a West Virginia resident enrolled in an accredited West Virginia nursing program. In return for the scholarship award, recipients must begin employment at an eligible work site in West Virginia within six months of graduation to avoid repayment. A recipient who fails to provide verification of meeting the service obligation will be obligated to repay the principal and any interest that accrues on the award amount.

Available Awards

  • Licensed Practical Nurse – eligible students have completed at least one-half of their program.
    • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to work as an LPN in West Virginia for one year for each year an award(s) was received.
  • Registered Nurse – eligible students have completed at least one-half of their RN program.
    • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to teach in an accredited WV nursing program or work as an RN in WV for two years for each year an award(s) was received.
  • Master’s Degree or Doctoral Nursing or Education Program – eligible students are currently and continuously employed as an educator in a West Virginia school of nursing while pursuing his or her master’s or doctoral degree.
    • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to teach in a WV school of nursing for two years for each year an award(s) was received.
  • LPN teaching certificate – eligible student must be accepted into a WV LPN teaching certificate program; be currently and continuously employed as a LPN educator by a WV LPN program while pursuing his or her LPN teaching certificate.
    • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to teach in WV LPN program for one year for each year an award(s) was received.

Submission Guidelines

The Nursing Scholarship Program has one award cycle for fall, spring and summer semester award.  The open application cycle is for ALL applicants.  Students should apply if they are or will be midpoint in their program during the award year. Applicants must indicate which semesters they are applying for and the schools will verify that the student remains in good standing in order to receive each semester’s award.   The Nursing Scholarship awards are made through a competitive review process, so please provide complete information by the application deadline.

WVCN New Administrator

WVCN Appoints Lissa Gonzalez as its New Administrator 

The Board of Directors of the West Virginia Center for Nursing has announced the appointment of Lissa Gonzalez, MSN, MBA, APRN, FNP-BC, as the Center’s administrator. Lissa joined the Center in late November 2018 after the retirement of the previous administrator Drema Pierson in July.

“I am pleased to be offered this opportunity and excited to take the Center into its next chapter,” Gonzalez said.

While still maintaining programs such as the scholarship program, clinical scheduling, and junior nursing academy, Gonzalez wants to expand the Center’s mission with nursing workforce data.

“I hope to optimize our data and make it useful to assist in strategic nursing workforce planning and development. Our mission at the Center for Nursing is to improve the health and healthcare of all West Virginians through strategic nursing workforce planning and development,” Lissa said.

Lissa began her nursing career with her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Kentucky. She completed her master’s degree in nursing at University of Pittsburgh and began working as a family nurse practitioner. While working as a nurse practitioner in primary care, she obtained another master’s degree, in business administration, from Ohio University. Lissa will continue a part-time clinical practice while working at the Center for Nursing.

The Center welcomes your feedback and support. You may contact Lissa at (304) 558-0838 or lissa.gonzalez@wvhepc.edu.

Long Term Care Services Nursing Demand Projections 2015 – 2030

This is one in a series of HRSA reports on the health care workforce, in this case intended to provide information on the future demand for RNs and LPNs in LTSS. These occupations are faced with the challenges of a rapidly aging U.S. population, with longer life expectancy and rising burden of disease.

Looking to the future, many factors will continue to affect demand and supply of the LTSS workforce, including demographically driven demand for health services.10 For example, any potential future changes to the Medicaid program could play a role in determining service use, site of care, and workforce availability.

Policies to improve population health are likely to increase (rather than reduce) demand for nursing occupations in LTSS due to increased longevity, despite slight short-term declines in demand related to improvements in average health. Long term services Nursing projections HRSA

West Virginia Center for Nursing Awards $469,250 in Nursing Scholarships for 2018-2019

West Virginia Center for Nursing Awards $469,250 in Nursing Scholarships for 2018-2019

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Center for Nursing announced that 287 West Virginia nursing students will receive funds totaling $469,250 as part of the Nursing Scholarship Program. The program, which is administered by the West Virginia Center for Nursing in conjunction with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC), helps licensed practical, registered, master’s and doctoral nursing students pursue their degrees.

Drema Pierson, MSN, MBA, RN, Administrator for the Center for Nursing, said that the number of students applying and receiving funds has increased significantly every year with targeted promotion of the scholarship and the introduction of an online application that streamlined the application process in 2016.

In order to qualify for a scholarship, nursing students must be West Virginia residents and agree to fulfill a service obligation to work in West Virginia for each year they receive an award. To apply for a scholarship, students should visit www.wvcenterfornursing.org  The online application will reopen on April 15, 2019, and the deadline to apply for an award for the 2019 – 2020 academic year is June 1, 2019.

The West Virginia Legislature created the West Virginia Center for Nursing in 2004. In addition to supporting the Nursing Scholarship Program, the Center focuses on nursing workforce planning and development to help alleviate an ongoing shortage of nurses. The program is funded by a $10 fee paid during the yearly license renewal process completed by every licensed practical and registered nurse in the state.

Nursing Workforce 2017 Data Summary

The Community and Technical College System of West Virginia (CTCS), the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) and the West Virginia Center for Nursing hosted a roundtable discussion regarding critical nursing shortages in West Virginia.   CTCS Chancellor Sarah Tucker, HEPC Chancellor Paul Hill, Administrator of the West Virginia Center for Nursing, Drema Pierson as well as, nurse leaders, educators and employers of nurses meet on Friday, March 17, 2017 at the Advanced Technology Center in South Charleston, WV to review nursing workforce data and examine best practices to guarantee an adequate supply of nurses into the future.

Panel Presentations can be found here

 

 

 

West Virginia 2016 Nurse Faculty Survey released

In 2016, the West Virginia Center for Nursing undertook a survey of nursing programs leading to the associate or bachelors degree preparing students for licensure as a registered nurse. The WV Center for Nursing presents these data for education planning, workforce planning, and potential legislative solutions to the continuing nursing and faculty shortage.

Click here to read more:   Nursing Faculty Survey 2016 Final

 

The West Virginia Center for Nursing Releases 2015 Employment and Wage data for West Virginia Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses

The West Virginia Center for Nursing Releases 2015 Employment and Wage data for West Virginia Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Advanced Practice Nurses

 The West Virginia Center for Nursing has released 2015 Employment and Wage data for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and advanced practice nurses for West Virginia and surrounding states, and for urban and non-urban areas of West Virginia.

 

Each year, the United States Bureau for Labor Statistics releases data regarding specific workforce sectors. Along with data from state sources, the West Virginia Center for Nursing analyzes these data for strategic decision making.

 

The data shows 2015 total employment, mean hourly wages, and mean annual wages for West Virginia and the states that border West Virginia. The inclusion of data from surrounding states is critical as previous surveys have shown that nurses who live in West Virginia may commute to surrounding states for employment.

 

Compared to its surrounding states, West Virginia has the lowest mean hourly wage for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, with the gap being largest between West Virginia and Maryland, a gap of over $15,000 dollars annually for registered nurses, and over $7,000 annually for licensed practical nurses.

 

Additional data shows 2015 total employment, mean hourly wage, and mean annual wage for urban and non-urban areas of West Virginia for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and advanced practice nurses.

To access the report click here:      2015-wv-nurse-employment-and-wage-data-snapshot

 

West Virginia Center for Nursing Awards $225,000 in Scholarships

 

The West Virginia Center for Nursing awards $225,000 in scholarships-News  Release 

The West Virginia Center for Nursing announces that 76 students will receive funds totaling $225,000 as part of the Nursing Scholarship Program for the 2016-17 academic year.   The program, which is administered by the West Virginia Center for Nursing in conjunction with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission helps licensed practical, registered, masters and doctoral nursing students pursue their degrees.

April Shapiro, who received a $10,000 award for the fall and spring semesters, plans to use her scholarship in order to finish her Ph.D. in nursing at West Virginia University. She will continue to teach nursing in West Virginia in order to fulfill the scholarship’s service obligation to remain in state after graduation.

“I was so worried about being able to pay for everything,” she said. “What a relief. I can relax now and focus on finishing my dissertation and graduating in May.”

A record number of candidates applied for the scholarship this application cycle. In order to qualify for a scholarship, nursing students must be West Virginia residents and agree to fulfill a service obligation to work in West Virginia for each year they receive an award. To apply for a scholarship, students should visit the web site. The online application will reopen on April 15, 2017, and the deadline to apply for an award for the 2017-18 academic year will be June 1.

The West Virginia Legislature created the West Virginia Center for Nursing in 2004. In addition to supporting the Nursing Scholarship Program, the Center focuses on nursing workforce planning and development to help alleviate an ongoing shortage of nurses. The program is funded by a $10 fee paid during the yearly license renewal process completed by every licensed practical and registered nurse in the state.

For more information, visit www.wvcenterfornursing.org Scholarships.

WVCN Administrator Retiring.

Drema Pierson, RN, MSN, MBA, Administrator, West Virginia Center for Nursing is retiring.

“It has been a privilege and a pleasure working with the WVCN Board of Directors and nursing community to advance the mission and vision of the West Virginia Center for Nursing.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have been part of this amazing program that is supported solely by West Virginia nurses.”   Every RN and LPN in West Virginia can feel proud that $10 of each of our annual licensure renewal fee has allowed the Center to award over $2.5 million dollars in nursing scholarships since 2007.  The Nursing Scholarship program has seen record numbers of applicants using the new online application and will award $470,000 for the 2018 – 2019 academic year.  The new clinical scheduling program is now available for use by all workforce regions in West Virginia and nursing workforce data collected by the Center is available to help identify and project nursing workforce demands and educational needs.

Individuals interested in applying for the position may contact the Higher Education Policy Commission.  See details in the Job Description

Administrator-WV Center for Nursing Job Description