RALEIGH (December 29, 2021) – 2021 was slightly less chaotic than 2020, with distribution of vaccines that temporarily calmed the coronavirus pandemic before new variants began to emerge. The state also saw its first new budget in three years, with much-needed raises for higher education faculty and staff and generous investments in capital projects. It’s… READ MORE
Nurses: Can North Carolina meet the demand?
RALEIGH (August 25, 2021) – All too often, we take them for granted – until we get sick. It’s then that we realize how critical North Carolina’s nurses are not only to our health, but to our workforce, our communities and our economy. If we didn’t before, we’ve come to show nurses appreciation that’s long… READ MORE
Hans: Nurses to care for all of us
CHAPEL HILL (August 25, 2021) – Peter Hans has seen it both as President of the UNC System and President of the NC Community College System: To solve North Carolina’s nursing shortage, it will take more instructors. “If we could recruit and compensate nurses to actually prepare other nurses… then we would be better off… READ MORE
Who spends time with patients?
RALEIGH (August 20, 2021) – We’ve heard team-based care is increasingly important in health care – and it is. But is there any question who spends the most time with patients, particularly in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted-living centers? “Probably 99 percent of the time is nurse-patient contact,” Dr. Ann Marie Milner, Director of Nursing… READ MORE
Needed update for a respected nursing school
CHAPEL HILL (August 18, 2021) – The first time Lauren Kiefer arrived at Carrington Hall at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Nursing, she got lost. It’s two buildings – an older one and a younger one – mashed against one another, and the hallways can indeed be confusing. “I was a little bit surprised by the… READ MORE
‘That’s the basics – giving care to others’
RALEIGH (August 13, 2021) – What makes someone want to be a nurse? “It runs the gamut,” Dr. Ann Marie Milner, Director of Nursing at Wake Technical Community College, says in the accompanying video. “Some people have sick parents, and it spurred them. Many of our students were sick when they were little, and they… READ MORE
Nursing: A shifting landscape
(August 11, 2021) – Even as North Carolina tries to catch up with its nursing shortage, it’s seeing changes in how nurses are trained, which nurses are most in demand and where they are needed. For starters, the mannequins used to simulate real patients have transformed nursing education over the past 10 years. The mannequins… READ MORE
Nursing Heroes: The Singing Nurse
WINSTON-SALEM (August 6, 2021) – Educators teach nurses how to calm nervous patients. Sometimes instinct does the rest. That’s what happened March 10 at a pop-up Novant Health COVID vaccine clinic at St. Peter’s Church and World Outreach Center in Winston-Salem. Vergie Hart’s prayers and her children convinced her she needed to be vaccinated. But… READ MORE
Nurses for rural North Carolina
(Aug. 4, 2021) – Big urban hospitals’ demand for nurses seems obvious. But what’s less obvious is the need for nurses in North Carolina’s rural communities. “You find that our graduates are more likely to be in those places that are sometimes hardest to fill, in terms of those nursing positions,” Dr. Scott Ralls, President… READ MORE
Stith: Nurses for rural communities
RALEIGH (August 4, 2021) – Local hospitals. Rehab centers. Assisted-living homes. They all need trained nurses, particularly in North Carolina’s rural areas. And the state’s community colleges can supply those nurses. “In 2020 alone, the North Carolina Community College System produced over 47% of the nurses that graduated in the state,” Thomas Stith III, President… READ MORE