JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 25, 2021) – Ballad Health announced it has committed a $10 million investment to create the Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement at East Tennessee State University.
The Center will be dedicated to bringing nursing, business, liberal arts, education
and other academic and support programs together to increase the pipeline of opportunity
and augment the supply of nurses and nursing support in the Appalachian Highlands.
The Center will develop partnerships with other colleges and universities, such as
Emory & Henry College, Milligan University, Northeast State Community College, Tusculum
University and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, among others, to advance
the clinical practice of nursing, enhance interprofessional collaboration, contribute
to knowledge about nursing workflow and generate nursing scholarship and innovation.
Even prior to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the nation faced a shortage
of nurses, with more than 1 million nurses expected to retire before 2030, according
to a study published in Medical Care. Combining this with the historically high acuity
of hospitalized patients creates a high-stress situation for practicing nurses, leading
to burnout and higher turnover rates.
“As the largest nursing program in the state of Tennessee and as an institution whose
mission is to improve the lives of the people of our region, we are excited about
the opportunity Ballad Health has created to increase this vital pipeline of nurses,
while also seeking to provide support and ongoing enhancement of our existing workforce,”
said ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland. “ETSU is poised to continue to meet the challenge
of the nursing shortage through the Center for Nursing Advancement, which will be
rooted in our strong service, teaching and research missions.”
The Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement will focus on data and research,
collaboration with key stakeholders across the region and advocacy to promote the
nursing profession.
“Our nurses and their direct support teams, such as certified nursing assistants,
licensed practical nurses and the other allied health professionals who care directly
for patients are the heart of the healthcare team,” said Ballad Health Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer Alan Levine. “The dynamics of the nursing profession have
changed so much, becoming even more complex because of the challenges of the pandemic.
We now seek to learn from our nurses what we need to do to evolve to better support
the needs of our nursing teams and enhance their resilience in a very difficult environment,
and partnerships with these regional institutions of higher education within the Appalachian
Highlands is just the beginning of this collaborative effort to invest in healthcare
workforce development.”
Not only will the Center work with current nurses and nursing students, but it will
also seek to attract more students to the nursing profession. The Center will partner
with other institutions to develop a common pipeline for high school students to identify
those with aptitudes for the sciences and help match them with employment and pathways
to certification as a nursing support professional or for a nursing degree. These
programs could match students with jobs within Ballad Health while they’re in high
school, which provide a path to certification by their high school graduations, linking
them with the possibility of scholarships for nursing degrees, as well as employment
opportunities within Ballad Health.
“Inspiring and educating the next generation of nurses and nurse educators is perhaps
more important now than it has ever been,” said Dr. Leann Horsley, dean of ETSU’s
College of Nursing. “The Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement will
be critical to laying the groundwork for tomorrow’s nursing workforce in our region
and ensuring that not only do we overcome the challenges of the pandemic, but that
we also are proactive in creating a resilient and well-prepared workforce that can
meet the future needs of our region as it grows.”
“The last year and a half have brought tremendous attention to the field of nursing
and our nursing professionals, and with that, wider recognition of the long-looming
national nursing shortage,” said Dr. Lisa Smithgall, Ballad Health’s chief nursing
executive. “Just as it’s taken a community effort to address and mitigate the COVID-19
pandemic, it’s going to take a wide-reaching effort to overcome this shortage in frontline
caregivers and develop a robust, farsighted effort to build out the nursing workforce
for the coming generations.”
Support from throughout the region and State of Tennessee
The announcement of the creation of the Center has drawn support from throughout the
Appalachian Highlands and in Nashville.
“The nation is facing a labor shortage with profound impacts on health care,” said
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. “Ballad Health is investing into East Tennessee State University
to develop the Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement which will not
only serve the needs of the Appalachian Highland region, but the entire state. My
administration looks forward to working with Ballad Health and ETSU as they build
solutions to the national nursing shortage.”
“Milligan University has long been a reliable provider of allied health and nursing
professionals to the region, and we are enthusiastic about participating with ETSU
and our other colleagues throughout the region to contribute to the goals of the Center,”
said Dr. Bill Greer, president of Milligan University.
“The University of Virginia’s College at Wise values our partnership with Ballad Health
and our colleague institutions, as we all have worked together to provide solutions
for the Appalachian Highlands,” said Dr. Donna Henry, chancellor of UVA Wise. “We
look forward to being a part of the Center and to contributing to the growth and enhancement
of the nursing profession as we seek to grow our own programs.”
“Emory and Henry College has been the beneficiary of the generosity of Ballad Health
in the past, resulting in a fantastic allied health program infrastructure, and we
are excited about this next major investment Ballad Health is making in advancing
nursing as a profession,” said Dr. John Wells, president of Emory and Henry College.
“Our nursing students and alumni have made a profound difference in patients and the
region’s health thanks, in large measure, to a long and productive relationship with
Ballad Health,” said Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum University’s president. “Tusculum
is proud to serve the Appalachian Highlands, and we are excited about partnering with
Ballad Health and other higher education institutions through this collaborative approach
to assist the nursing profession in the region.”
“We are excited to be part of a robust nursing pipeline in our community,” Dr. Bethany
Bullock, president of Northeast State Community College, said. “At Northeast State,
we are committed to working alongside our academic partners and Ballad Health to increase
and enhance the health care workforce in the Appalachian Highlands.”
More information about the ETSU College of Nursing is available at www.etsu.edu, and open nursing jobs with Ballad Health are listed at www.balladhealth.org/careers.
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About Ballad Health
Ballad Health is an integrated community health improvement organization serving 29
counties of the Appalachian Highlands in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia,
Northwest North Carolina and Southeast Kentucky. Our system of 21 hospitals, post-acute
care and behavioral health services, and a large multi-specialty group physician practice
works closely with an active independent medical community and community stakeholders
to improve the health and well-being of close to one million people. By leading in
the adoption of value-based payments, addressing health-related social needs, funding
clinical and health systems research and committing to long-term investments in strong
children and families in our region, Ballad Health is striving to become a national
model for rural health and healthcare. Learn more at www.BalladHealth.org.
About East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular purpose to improve the quality of life for the
people of the region. Today, the university offers more than 160 programs at the undergraduate
and graduate levels and has more than 100,000 living graduates. The impact of our
students, alumni, faculty and staff can be seen across the region and around the world.