Tuskegee, Alabama – Tuskegee University’s Nursing Program in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health was recently awarded a $1,279,302, three-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant was awarded for the Nursing Workforce Diversity Project. This initiative addresses Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act; Section 821, which focuses on Nursing Workforce Diversity.

“The grant will enable Tuskegee’s School of Nursing and Allied Health to strengthen its recruitment, retention, pre-entry, faculty development, cultural competence and financial support. Historically, racial and ethnic minorities have always been under-represented in the health professions in America,” said Dr. Cordelia Nnedu, associate professor and assistant director of the Department of Nursing. “If nursing is to meet the {www:health} care needs of our changing society, it must {www:increase} its efforts to prepare nurses who are sensitive to and knowledgeable about the population they serve.”

Through support from the grant, the School will conduct “Nursing as a Career” presentations each semester at Tuskegee and two other Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“The faculty and staff in the School of Nursing and Allied Health are to be commended for working together to make the Nursing Workforce Diversity project a success. Without the team approach the over $1.2 million grant award would not have been made possible,” said Dr. Tsegaye Habtemariam, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health. “This grant moves the program a step closer in identifying students for the nursing program and eventually graduating {www:competent} nurses.”

Source: Tuskegee University