| (Washington, D.C.) U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) announced today that South Arkansas Community College (SouthArk) in El Dorado has been awarded a $1,573,688 competitive grant from the Department of Labor. The funding is part of the Community-Based Job Training Grants program designed to help community colleges equip workers with the skills needed by growing local industries.
SouthArk will use the grant to lead a strategic partnership in the creation of a new healthcare initiative for Southern Arkansas that addresses the shortages and vacancies in nursing occupations. Estimates show that by 2020, Arkansas will face a 48 percent nursing shortage with the state’s rural areas facing shortages of more than 60 percent. The shortage of registered nurses in South Arkansas is projected to reach 25 percent by 2010.
The SouthArk partnership is one of 72 recipients out of 429 applicants nationwide. The grant will be utilized in training activities throughout South Arkansas.
"Well-trained health care professionals are essential in keeping our communities healthy and productive," said Lincoln. "I applaud the South Arkansas Community College partnership for winning this highly competitive grant and for its proactive efforts in addressing Arkansas’ health care needs."
"SouthArk has given so much throughout the years to strengthen communities throughout Southern Arkansas," Pryor said. "This grant to expand training opportunities for careers in nursing is well-deserved and I am very pleased it will seek to address the crucial shortage of nurses our state is facing."
"Trained health care professionals are vital to our communities and it’s important that we do all we can to ensure that we are providing our colleges and universities that train them with the necessary resources today in order to prepare for the ever-increasing health care needs of tomorrow," Ross said. "I am proud that South Arkansas Community College will receive this important funding which will train more than 300 skilled nurses in Arkansas to work in the healthcare field."
The SouthArk project seeks to increase the number of certified nursing assistants (CNAs), licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and surgical technologists serving South Arkansas. SouthArk will also create a Health Sciences Careers Advising Model to improve the success and licensure of program participants and will develop a Health Sciences Institute to graduate well-qualified CNAs.
The SouthArk partnership includes Arkansas Department of Workforce Service (DWS), Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development District, Medical Center of South Arkansas, Ouachita County Medical Center, Ashley County Medical Services, El Dorado Public Schools, Parkers Chapel Public Schools, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
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