Mount Saint Mary College has been awarded a four-year, $2.15 million Nursing Workforce Development (NWD) grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
The college was one of 38 chosen to receive the funding.
Beginning with $551,000 in first-year funding, the grant will fund the college’s “Supporting the Nurses of Tomorrow” initiative, designed to expand nursing education opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Led by Project Director Dr. Ann Marie Brooks, Interim Dean of the School of Nursing at the Mount, the Nursing Workforce Development program will serve 40 students from disadvantaged backgrounds annually. Using an evidence-based, comprehensive systems approach, the program equips aspiring nurses with the academic, social, and financial resources needed to graduate and earn licensure as registered nurses (RNs).
“Financial barriers or life circumstances should never stand in the way of a calling to care for others,” said Brooks. “Through the ‘Supporting the Nurses of Tomorrow’ initiative, this grant allows us to offer a complete network of financial, academic, and personal mentorship to 40 students each year. By empowering students from disadvantaged backgrounds to thrive in our classrooms and clinical settings, we are not only transforming individual lives – we are building a resilient, compassionate nursing workforce prepared to serve our region’s most medically vulnerable communities.”
To bridge opportunity gaps from enrollment through licensure, the Mount’s NWD program provides participating students with holistic, multi-tiered resources, including direct scholarships and student stipends to reduce financial strain and allow students to focus on their rigorous coursework and clinical training. The program also offers individualized tutoring, academic assistance, research opportunities, and dedicated National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) review courses; as well as one-on-one coaching, faculty and peer mentoring, monthly workshops, social activities that build peer community, and targeted career preparation.
The four-year “Supporting the Nurses of Tomorrow” initiative focuses on three core objectives:
- Enrollment and Graduation: Increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who enroll in, persist through, and graduate from the Mount’s nursing degree programs through targeted pipeline programs and student support services.
- Holistic Infrastructure: Establish and enhance integrated academic, social, and financial support systems that maximize educational outcomes for participating nursing students.
- Faculty and Preceptor Excellence: Recruit and retain dedicated nursing faculty and clinical preceptors to deliver high-impact mentorship and strengthen clinical and classroom learning environments.
The grant builds on the foundational strengths of the college’s School of Nursing, one of the premier nursing education programs in the Hudson Valley. Mount nursing students train in the college’s state-of-the-art Nursing Learning Resource Center – featuring high-fidelity computerized human patient simulators – and gain hands-on clinical experience through partnerships with more than 40 area hospitals and healthcare facilities. Guided by dedicated faculty, Mount graduates consistently achieve first-time NCLEX-RN pass rates that exceed the national average.