A coalition of local higher education institutions and hospitals, including Lamar State College Orange (LSCO), is one of 60 finalists chosen from more than 500 applications from across the nation seeking $70,000,000 in federal funds to address the nursing shortage across the country. The funds would allow regional colleges to hire more nursing faculty members and allow hospitals to hire more nurses.
The local coalition includes Lamar State College Orange, Lamar State College Port Arthur, Lamar University, the Deep East Texas College and Career Academy, Christus Southeast Texas Health Systems, Baptist Hospital of Southeast Texas, The Southeast Texas Medical Center, and Riceland Health Services.
The group met last week with Dennis Alvord, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, to discuss the details of the grant. LSCO’s representatives to the roundtable included President Dr. Thomas Johnson, Provost Dr. Wendy Elmore, and Associate Dean of Nursing Mandee Tucker.
The final decision on the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration’s largest grant competition ever is expected in late July.
