Arkansas spends $20 million to improve the state’s nursing education program

Little Rock, Arkansas – Twenty million dollars in grants have been announced by Governor Sanders to support the expansion of nursing programs at state colleges and institutions.

Nineteen different two- and four-year colleges will get the funding, which comes from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development through the Arkansas Linking Industry to Growing Nurses (ALIGN) Program.

Sanders claims that Arkansas is not producing enough nurses at a fast enough pace to address the persistent shortfall, which is the purpose of this funding.

“The nurse shortage isn’t just an Arkansas issue. We’ll need nearly 300,000 new nurses across America by the end of the decade, and the demand for nurses is growing faster than all other occupations. The pandemic underscored the need for more nurses, so this program will help fill our healthcare needs.”

The following are schools receiving ALIGN funding:

• Arkansas State University, $2,598,396
• ASU – Mountain Home, $625,175
• Arkansas Tech University, $327,208
• Baptist Health Foundation, $1,944,608
• Henderson State University, $761,200
• Jefferson Hospital Association, $420,800
• John Brown University, $328,250
• NorthWest Arkansas Community College, $2,110,901
• Ouachita Baptist University, $487,000
• Philander Smith University, $396,857
• University of Arkansas Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, $1,198,353
• University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville (UACCB), $368,614
• University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM), $2,024,546
• University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, $2,033,375
• University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Nursing, $969,200
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, $1,679,566
• University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, $1,004,000
• University of Arkansas Rich Mountain, $645,850
• University of Central Arkansas School of Nursing, $476,100