Central Louisiana’s Nurses for the Future

Building Partnerships to Shore Up the Nursing Shortage

The U.S. healthcare system faces a projected nursing shortage, and this was true even before the outbreak of COVID-19. By next year, 500,000 experienced Registered Nurses (RNs) are expected to retire. In order to meet demand, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 1.1 million new RNs will need to enter the workforce. And while seasoned RNs reach retirement age, the aging population is larger than ever and requires more healthcare longer.

To address this problem head-on, LSU of Alexandria’s renowned nursing program has partnered with central Louisiana area healthcare providers and six businesses—RoyOMartin, Rapides Regional Medical Center, CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital, Central Management, Magnolia Management, and the Central Louisiana Surgical Hospital. So far, the Central Louisiana Nurses for the Future Program has garnered more than $460,000 in private funds and an additional $435,000 from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation to provide scholarships to nursing students who need financial aid and also to hire additional faculty. The effort has already begun to pay off. LSUA’s nursing program has been able to enroll an additional 20 nursing students each semester and expects to graduate 55 new RNs by the end of this year (up from 37 graduates in 2020) who will be ready to enter the workforce.

LSUA has educated RNs for more than 60 years. Hailey Teal is a third-generation LSUA nursing program graduate. Although her grandmother and mother were LSUA nursing school graduates and RNs, she wasn’t sure at first if she was cut out for nursing.

“I avoided it for a while and then thought, ‘Why am I not doing that?’” she said. “I’ve always felt called to do something that was helpful for other people, so I said, ‘I’m going to go try it.’”

She graduated from the nursing program in December 2020 and is now a labor and delivery nurse at CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria.

“That program alone has elevated the caliber of nurses in our area, and LSUA’s footprint in central Louisiana is huge in supplying highly skilled, qualified nurses needed to care for our community. LSUA nursing graduates consistently meet and exceed the standards of professionalism and practice we expect for our registered nurses. They have always proven themselves to be a valuable asset to healthcare at our hospital and in our community.”

Jason Cobb, CEO at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, where most of the nursing staff are graduates of the LSUA nursing program