Is the cry for more nurses finally being heeded? It may seem so as
all over the country funds are being given to nursing programs, designed
to produce more nurses to fill our shortage. Last week, Texas Tech
University (TTU) announced the generous donation of $10 million from the
Hunt Family Foundation to the Texas Tech University Health Services
Center (TTUHSC).
TTU System Chancellor Kent Hance, who made the announcement, said that
the donation will be used to develop an autonomous, fully-accredited
nursing school at the TTUHSC El Paso campus.
This new school will be named the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing,
after the wife of Woody L. Hunt, chairman of the Hunt Family Foundation
and CEO of the Hunt Companies, which is headquartered in El Paso.
Because of the nationwide nursing shortage and a rapidly aging
population, TTU has been seeking to develop its nursing program. Earlier
this year, the TTU System Board of Regents approved the process of
establishing an additional, freestanding nursing school in El Paso.
"We are honored to name the future El Paso nursing school after Gayle
Hunt," Hance said. "The Hunt family has been a tremendous friend and
supporter over the years, and thanks to this contribution, we will
continue to serve our communities through unrivalled teaching, research
and patient care."
Woody Hunt also announced the donation, which has the double purpose of
alleviating the nursing shortage and meeting critical needs in the El
Paso area. "On behalf of the Foundation, the Hunt family is proud to
lend support to the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center by establishing
this nursing school," Woody Hunt said. "We believe this type of
initiative promotes strategic economic development that is in line with
El Paso's vision for broader educational attainment as well as meeting
our border health challenges," he added.
He went on to talk about the El Paso vision for higher education, as
outlined in the Blueprint for Global Competitiveness in the Paso del
Norte Region, which was created last year by the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "We believe this new
nursing school can be a major building block within that blueprint,"
Woody Hunt said. "Our foundation's commitment to Texas Tech for the
development of its nursing school is intended to build additional
capacity for the preparation of health care professionals in the Paso
del Norte region. It is meant to complement the nursing education and
research programs at other regional institutions, and to work in a
collaborative manner, per that OECD blueprint."
Chancellor Hance thanked the Hunt family for the donation, praising the
Foundation for providing TTU the ability to enhance educational
opportunities for future generations of healthcare workers and patients,
and for improving the quality of our nation's healthcare.
In 2009, Texas had an estimated shortage of 20,000 nurses. El Paso
itself is the fourth most populous city in the state with a population
of over 700,000, but the combined population of surrounding areas,
including Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, soars to about 2.2 million. This highly
populated area has been federally designated as a medically undeserved
area.
TTUHSC has been planning to increase offerings to nursing students for a
few years now. In 2008, university administrators implemented an
accelerated Second Degree Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN)
program, and hired a regional dean and other necessary faculty to
support the program. In 2009, nursing programs were expanded to include
a traditional BSN program with an enrollment of 40 students. The Gayle
Greve Hunt School of Nursing is expected to reach an enrollment of 500
students by 2015. TTU hopes to establish a full health sciences center
in El Paso in the future.