Hospital, College gets Duke Endowment Grant

KINGSTREE—Williamsburg Regional Hospital and Williamsburg Technical College have received a $250,000 grant from The Duke Endowment to maintain essential nursing training through Williamsburg Technical College’s PN program to meet critical healthcare needs in Williamsburg County.

Williamsburg Technical College, the county’s only postsecondary institution, began a Practical Nursing education program in 2005 with the help of the Williamsburg Regional Hospital and two Duke Endowment grants – one for $16,500 to evaluate the need for the PN program and one for $188,140 to implement the program. Prior to the PN program start-up at Williamsburg Technical College, Williamsburg County residents who wished to seek a career in nursing had to make a round trip of three hours or more to enroll in nursing programs at other colleges, many of which have admissions waiting lists of up to five years. 
Williamsburg Regional Hospital partnered with the College to introduce nursing curricula to address the regional health care shortage, offer local residents expanded employment opportunities in the health care sector, and ultimately improve quality and access to health care for local residents.  In each of the four years of the nursing program’s operation, 100 percent of the graduates have passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and have found employment in the community.
According to Williamsburg Technical College interim president Dr. Cheryl Cox, “Federal and other government funding assistance has been requested, but in light of all shortfalls and the tenuous nature of requesting funding, without this assistance from the Duke Endowment, the continuation and expansion of the WTC practical nursing program would have been in serious danger.”
The WTC practical nursing program currently enrolls approximately 16-18 students taught by two faculty members per academic year, but the impact of the program is much broader in scope.  Williamsburg County is a federally-designated Medically Underserved Area with a Medically Underserved Population and a Health Professional Shortage Area.  The entire county (over 36,000 people) would be adversely affected by the loss of the WTC PN program by further exacerbating the lack of qualified nursing personnel in the area’s medical facilities.

The Duke Endowment, located in Charlotte, NC, seeks to fulfill the legacy of James B. Duke by improving lives and communities in the Carolinas through higher education, health care, rural churches and children’s services. Since its inception, the Endowment has awarded more than $2.6 billion in grants.
For more information on Williamsburg Technical College’s practical nursing program, go to http://www.wiltech.edu.