Partnership to address nursing shortage

Ashley Johnson, the chief operating officer for Saline Health System, announced a partnership between Saline Health System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Tuesday inside Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton. The partnership addresses the nursing shortage in Saline County by creating scholarship opportunities for nursing students.
Ashley Johnson, the chief operating officer for Saline Health System, announced a partnership between Saline Health System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Tuesday inside Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton. The partnership addresses the nursing shortage in Saline County by creating scholarship opportunities for nursing students.

BENTON — As the need for health care services continues to grow, Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton has had to look for creative ways to partner with local representatives to ensure that the hospital has enough nurses to fill its growing need.

On Tuesday, the Saline Health System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock announced a partnership to help address the nursing shortage seen nationwide.

“We have partnered together for our first Saline Pathway Program, in which 20 students will be part of the initial program,” said Ashley Johnson, Saline Health System chief operating officer.

According to a press release from Saline Memorial Hospital, UALR will recruit and educate 20 students for the program. After completing a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree, students will be prepared to obtain their registered nurse licensure and begin a career at Saline Memorial Hospital.

“Our financial commitment is $5,000 toward two years of school, or four semesters, for each student,” Johnson said. “Together, that is $100,000 for the first class.

“We are certainly looking forward to partnering with UALR going forward.”

Johnson said the award will be structured as a loan and subject to forgiveness on a monthly basis as long as the graduate remains employed by Saline Memorial Hospital for at least 24 months after graduation from UALR. The 20 students will enter the pathway program this fall.

“We are fortunate to be able to invest in nurses who are committed to Saline Health System’s values and look forward to retaining qualified nurses to serve Saline County residents for years to come,” Johnson said in the release.

Benton Mayor David Mattingly said this assistance will help local residents with a desire to stay in the area get their nursing degrees and will also help Saline Memorial Hospital.

“To have a program that can help you in your own community means a lot,” Mattingly said. “I am very excited that we finally got to this point, where there is a strong collaboration between the university, the hospital and the opportunity for local people to pursue that nursing degree.”

UALR Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said this new partnership and the expansion of the Benton campus are timely. In the press release, he said the “school’s pledge to central Arkansas is to help address and solve through educational opportunities the challenges businesses and organizations face.”

“At our Benton campus, Saline nursing students will benefit because they will be able to take some of their core classes here in Benton,” Rogerson said. “In other words, we want to build our presence in Saline County, and this is an important step in meeting community needs in this county.”

Nursing students will complete 27 to 31 credit hours of general-education courses, which students can take at the Benton campus, main campus or online. In addition, nursing students will take 34 nursing course credits. Clinicals will be taught at Saline Memorial Hospital.

Rogerson said as the demand for health care is expected to continue to rise, so is the demand for nurses, and it will continue to grow an estimated 16 percent through 2026.

“I am so gratified that we are tackling this problem together,” Rogerson said. “Through this beneficial partnership, it is a great day for the university, the hospital and the county.”

Frankie Castillo of Benton is one of the first five students to receive the grant through the Saline Pathway Program. She said it is a really great program that offers a scholarship needed to further her education.

“It helps with our studies to where I don’t have to work,” she said. “I can put all my effort toward my studies, and we can work in our own community and with our own people.”

Ann Bain, the dean for the College of Education and Health Professions at UALR, said the college and Saline Memorial Hospital have had a longstanding relationship.

“We are very excited about this initiative and look forward to working together in the years to come,” she said. “If you were to look back at the history of UALR, we have been very proactive in reaching out and meeting the needs of our community.”

Bain said that in 1997, UALR had a very small associate-degree program for nurses and only admitted 60 students per year. She said that by listening to the needs that were there, UALR has expanded the program to include more than 700 students.

“Our hope is that this partnership will enable our students to connect with Saline Memorial and to value the culture and the learning opportunity that is here,” she said. “This will ease their transition into clinical practice but will also increase the retention, because they will be a part of this community when they take their first job.

“We are looking forward to watching these students grow.”

Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.

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