Jonathan Tanner, Vice President of Partnerships and Business Development, will speak at the Rural Health Association of Utah Conference.
"We've witnessed the impact of inadequate staffing in rural health facilities and its effects on the community. It is time for health care and higher education to come together to resolve this issue."
(PRWEB) November 30, 2017
Nightingale College has been selected to present at Southern Utah University’s Rural Health Association of Utah Conference on December 1, 2017. Jonathan Tanner, Vice President of Partnerships and Business Development, will present “The Importance of Nursing Education in Rural Communities.”
The day-long conference is centered around rural health needs in Utah and bringing together thought leaders in the rural communities of Utah.
Rita Osborn, Director of the Utah Center for Rural Health, said the purpose of the conference is to unite health care providers across the state. “The Rural Health Association of Utah brings together health care providers from all over the state to learn about resources available to patients and providers who practice in rural and frontier counties,” she said.
Utah is home to over three million residents who are dispersed across 84,897 miles of landscape. Across the state, it is not uncommon to discover secluded rural communities with little to no access to health care, resources, and nursing programs. Residents’ health and well-being are threatened when the community is unable to sustain the resources locally to provide better patient care.
One of the most important resources to rural communities is the local nurse population which, unfortunately, is dwindling because of the workforce gap and lack of available nurse graduates. Nurses in these communities, where the nursing shortage is evident, experience burnout faster, leading to a potential increase of errors in patient care. Nightingale is dedicated to serving the communities that are ready to take the initiative to improve the patient care provided and combat the nursing shortage.
“We are thrilled to be able to share information about the nursing shortage, and to further educate health care professionals on what they can do to help,” said Tanner.
Tanner will present the solution to the nursing shortage (nursing education) and the advancement of nursing education within communities. Tanner will demonstrate that having BSN-prepared nurses reduce mortality and morbidity rates, improve outcomes, and help hospitals provide the best patient care possible.
Using real-world examples from partners throughout Utah and the West, Tanner will illustrate how nursing education has been effective in helping rural hospitals stay afloat and retain nurses. Nightingale uses its experiences with partners to build a foundation for rural communities’ success when providing patient care.
Nightingale hopes that through the presentation, health care professionals will have a better understanding of the nursing education options that are available.
"We've witnessed the impact of inadequate staffing in rural health facilities and its effects on the community. It is time for health care and higher education to come together to resolve this issue," said Tanner.
ABOUT NIGHTINGALE COLLEGE
Nightingale College creates avenues to accessible nursing programs with its fully accredited distance education associate and bachelor’s degree nursing programs. Supporting the growing need for nurses and providing strategies to combat the nursing shortage, the College’s programs work to not only grow but maintain homegrown nurses with the help of local health care systems. Nightingale College emphasizes graduating future nurses who are confident, competent, and compassionate, ready to work in their community. Since its establishment in 2010 in Ogden, Utah, the College has graduated nurses in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. To learn more about the College, its mission, and programs, visit http://nightingale.edu/.
