In the next few years, Ohio will be facing a critical shortage of nurses to fill positions in hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices and home health organizations.
In the next few years, Ohio will be facing a critical shortage of nurses to fill positions in hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices and home health organizations.
Northeast Ohio needs about 3,000 nurses and that number is predicted to grow as time goes on, said Melissa Owen, a registered nurse and lecturer at Kent Sate University – Geauga.
“The number of active professional nurses in hospitals is declining faster than we can replace them,” she said during a virtual presentation at KSU – Geauga on Feb. 25. “We have an aging population that is plagued by chronic diseases. And our current nursing population is aging.”
That is a reflection of the situation across the country. Owen said more than half a million nurses are expected to retire in 2022 and by 2024, there will be a demand for 32 million nurses in the U.S.
KSU-Geauga has a nursing degree program, but space limitations mean the program can only handle about 28 nursing students, she said.
While students working toward other degrees are able to do a lot of their study remotely, nursing students need to develop skills that require hands-on experience, said Angela Spalsbury, KSU-Geauga dean and chief administration officer.
“We see nursing as our future. We want to invest in our students,” she told about 50 online viewers during the half-hour presentation.
In 2019, all regional campuses embarked on a master planning process focusing on demonstrating commitment to their communities, providing academic programs based on the unique needs of each community, improving student experiences and reinforcing each KSU campus’s identity and accessibility, Spalsbury said.
At KSU-Geauga, a two-pronged program was developed to enlarge and enhance the nursing program and, at the request of students, make the building more like a regular college campus, she said.
The nursing program was established and accredited in the 1990s and has a placement rate of 100%, with many of those graduates finding work in or near Geauga County, Spalsbury said.
With the severe shortages of qualified nurses forecast, KSU – Geauga plans to help supply Northeast Ohio with homegrown talent.
In order to create a better learning environment for more students, the master plan calls for transforming the Geauga campus library on the west side of the building into a larger nursing lab and classroom, she said.
Overall, teaching and practicing space will increase from about 1,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet, she said.
More classroom space will allow additional students into the program, Spalsbury said. The skills lab is planned for eight beds, a significant increase from the three beds currently available. University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center has donated three of the additional beds for the larger program, she said.
On the east side of the building, a long hallway provides access to the building from the large parking lot to the large class commons.
The area along that hallway will be opened up to provide more space for study groups to gather, a relocated library area and a small café that will replace the current refrigerator and microwave, Spalsbury said.
“The master plan recommended more student engagement space,” she said, adding a student survey had been part of the planning process and college atmosphere was requested.
“The students wanted food service,” Spalsbury said. “We are like a mini Kent State.”
The café will be open to students and staff from the Berkshire Schools campus when the project is completed and the pre-K-through-grade-12 school is occupied, Spalsbury said.
In addition, the master plan includes new, more visible signage in the area of the patio on the south side of the building, she said.
“We have marvelous students and a great faculty,” she said. “This is all about investing in people in our community.”
When the new semester begins in the fall, everyone hopes to be able to begin in-person classes again with COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, she said.
Depending on funding and donations, the administration hopes to begin the renovation of about 5,000 square feet the summer of 2022.
“We have been in crisis mode for almost a year, but we still have been engaged in strategic planning,” Spalsbury said. “We are thriving, not just surviving.
