St. Mary’s School of Nursing awarded more than $508,000 through Gov. Justice’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program

St. Mary’s School of Nursing has been awarded $508,663.82 through West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program. The program is designed to address the state’s nursing shortage through a multifaceted approach to attract, train and retain nurses in the Mountain State.

The award program was established to fund nursing program expansion projects at colleges, universities, schools of nursing and career technical education centers across West Virginia.

St. Mary’s School of Nursing plans to utilize the funds to renovate current space to create larger classes and provide additional academic support rooms, as well as upgrade equipment and classrooms. The investment is expected to support up to 20 new nursing students at St. Mary’s School of Nursing.

“We are extremely pleased to receive this award to expand our program and allow for more students to achieve their dreams of becoming a nurse,” said Joey Trader, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, vice president, Schools of Nursing and Health Professions at St. Mary’s Medical Center and director, St. Mary’s School of Nursing. “We are so appreciative of Gov. Justice for taking this important step to support nursing education.”

The nursing program expansion awards are administered by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and Community and Technical College System. Twenty-six funded projects across the state were announced by Gov. Justice on March 17. Approved projects required a focus on increasing enrollment in pre-licensure nursing programs through innovative approaches focused on timely degree completion and licensure for graduates.

“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Justice for providing this historic funding to support the expansion of nursing education programs across West Virginia,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education. “Through these new projects, our postsecondary education community will be better positioned to help shore up West Virginia’s nursing workforce – which, in turn, will help support our nurses working tirelessly on the front lines right now.”

Gov. Justice announced the West Virginia Nursing Workforce Expansion Program in December 2021 by dedicating $48 million to support new and expanded initiatives that will train new nurses, fully fund the West Virginia Nursing Scholarship Program, value nurses already practicing in the state and recruit nurses into West Virginia.

Founded in 1926, St. Mary’s School of Nursing is the oldest nursing program in West Virginia. For more information about the school, visit www.st-marys.org.