HJNO Sep/Oct 2023

as certified nurse assistants, EKG techni- cians and mental health technicians before high school graduation. “What we’re really doing is funneling early talent in a diverse talent pipeline and setting it up for long term success,” said Ochsner Health Vice President of Talent Management Missy Sparks when describ- ing her health system’s similar partnership with Delgado Community College. “They will be LPNs without college debt, so we see that as a win.” “My oldest son is a product of dual enroll- ment,” said Cloud. “Oftentimes, in rural areas, in more poverty-stricken areas, being able to capture those kids while they’re in high school and start training them early, it changes the trajectory of their lives.” Rep. Chris Turner (R-Ruston) agreed, not- ing that he has seen healthcare workforce shortages firsthand as a pharmacy owner. “We have to make sure that we show these students coming out of high school what life can be like if they’re educated,” he said. “It’s about the whole thing — producing good jobs and quality healthcare.” “We should be in high schools talking to students about nursing, how you can level it out from LPN to associate degree to BSN to MSN or PhD,” Lyon said. “It’s a staggered approach over time. They can move all the way to the top of their profession and discipline.” “UPSKILLING” HEALTHCARE WORKERS To expand career opportunities, BRCC and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medi- cal Center recently created an accelerated one-year program for the hospital’s medical assistants to become LPNs. “The students work during the day. They work seven to three most of the time, and then they’re in class at night from four to nine. They have clinicals on the weekend,”Dennis said. “We graduated our first fast-track cohort last December with a 100 percent NCLEX pass rate, which we’re very proud of.” Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System Talent Strategy and DEI Director Asha Johnson said participating employees are eager “to have an oppor- tunity placed before them where they can change not only the trajectory of their careers and livelihood, but also influence their children and their children’s children. Generations could be influenced by their parents’ efforts to enhance their quality of life.” Starting this fall, LCMC Health’s New Orleans East Hospital is partnering with Nunez Community College and the Louisi- ana Board of Regents on a 16-month bridge program to train 20 employees to become LPNs. “These are high-performing work- ers in their entry-level roles, but they’ve just never been able to get over the hump to get in school.” said Chief Operating Offi- cer C.J. Marbley, PhD, MSN, RN. Partners will provide significant wrap-around ser- vices, including tutoring, scheduling flex- ibility, transportation, nurse mentors from the NewOrleans Black NursesAssociation, and counselors to help the working students succeed academically as they continue sup- porting their families. Within its own nursing school, Baton Rouge General (BRG) offers an LPNmobil- ity program that allows LPNs to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam within 12 months. BRG School of Nursing Director Linda Markey, PhD, RN, said the school’s regular three- semester RN diploma program includes “more clinical time than the traditional associates or baccalaureate programs, so the opportunity is that you are quickly entering the nursing profession with a guar- antee of a job and then a choice to do what- ever it is you want to do with your profes- sional development.” FILLING NURSE FACULTY SHORTAGES With some exceptions, nursing school faculty who teach at the BSN level must hold a graduate degree in nursing, and rules limit each of these faculty members to 10 stu- dents at a time during clinical instruction. Lyon explained that nursing schools face a growing shortage of masters-prepared faculty because these “salaries aren’t com- petitive to what they canmake in the private sector working in hospitals or at clinics.” Several Louisiana hospitals are already partnering with educators to help fill fac- ulty shortages. “We have a program in place to help prepare bachelors-prepared RNs to become MSNs so they can continue to work with us, but serve as clinical faculty to our colleges,” said Sparks. Marbley discussed waves of looming retirements among existing MSN-prepared faculty and said hospital-employed nurses could help fill the additional gap left by these departures. He said some of the sea- soned nurses New Orleans East currently employs now serve as adjunct faculty and might decide to finish their nursing careers as full-time faculty. Lyon and LSBN helped to mitigate this challenge by removing a rule that limited the use of baccalaureate-prepared faculty to no more than 20% of a nursing program’s faculty. After receiving an exception from the board, baccalaureate-prepared faculty may teach for a maximum of two years without enrolling in a graduate nursing pro- gram and even longer if they are enrolled. Louisiana’s Health Works Commission recommended additional steps to attract nursing faculty with a graduate degree, including training stipends and salary alignments that are closer to the national average. “It’s going to take all of us partnering together to think through new ways of opening the pipeline to meet the needs of tomorrow,” said Sparks. When discussing future targeted support from lawmakers, Turner said, “As long as we can see results, and there’s a need, I think that we can come together as a state and make that happen.” Cloud said she will continue advancing innovative workforce training proposals, because “it’s vital to the health and well- being of our people. It’s vital to our econ- omy.” n HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  SEP / OCT 2023 19