Premera Blue Cross announced this week they would be making a $1.8 million investment to address the critical shortage of nurses in the region. The grant will establish a new academic pathway at four colleges in Washington to increase opportunities and remove barriers for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Green River College is among the four colleges.

The new academic pathway program will launch at Green River College to help address the critical shortage of nurses throughout Washington. A goal of the program will increase opportunities and removed barriers for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. More people earning a BSN degree will improve the workforce pipeline and improve the quality of patient care.

It’s predicted that one million new Registered Nurses (RNs) will be needed by 2030 to address the severe shortages impacting hospitals and clinics, yet nursing schools turned away more than 80,000 qualified bachelor’s and higher-level nursing degree applicants in 2020 due to shortages of faculty, clinical sites, and other resources.

Nurse educators are typically required to have an advanced nursing degree, so this program will support the expansion of educational opportunities for future nurses. Studies also show that RNs who have completed their BSN degree have been linked to better patient care and overall health outcomes, due in part to their more extensive training.

The program features a hybrid learning model, combining in-person clinical practicums with online classes, and can be completed in two years, while most BSN programs take four years to complete.

Green River College will start accepting enrollees during the 2022-2023 academic year. The $1.8 million grant from Premera will support the launch of the program in Auburn and three other schools in Washington and provide student scholarships and faculty stipends.

About Premera Blue Cross
Premera Blue Cross, a not-for-profit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association based in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., is a leading health plan in the Pacific Northwest, providing comprehensive health benefits and tailored services to more than 2.6 million people, from individuals to Fortune 100 companies. For more information, visit www.premera.com

The above is a press release from Premera Blue Cross. The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to personally verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable. The publication of this press release does not indicate an endorsement of its content.