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September 14, 2018
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Expanded nursing initiative eyed by new head of campus at UMM
by Lora Whelan

 

     An expanded nursing education initiative is just one of the program areas that Andy Egan, the new head of campus and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Maine at Machias, is readying to implement. On the job since the end of August, he has been in non‑stop meetings to learn all that he can about the Machias campus and its role within the larger university system.
Egan was one of six siblings who were all first-generation college students, and he knows what it's like for many of UMM's large body of non‑traditional first‑generation students. He well remembers cleaning bathrooms and hallways and doing whatever it took to pay for his college education. "It gave me an understanding," he explains, of the juggling act many students are engaged in, as well as the importance of every campus employee and the role they play in campus life and community engagement. "That was important to me about this position," he says, and is something he has focused on in his past work, holding positions as dean, head of campus and academic affairs, among others.
     As head of campus, Egan is charged with managing the campus for the University of Maine System. The partnership between the campuses is about a year old, but there is still much work to be done. "Conceptually everyone knows how it works and why it's of value," Egan says. "But what that means operationally, with program creating, mission and branding," is a work in progress. "The partnerships are what will define the success." He adds that the campuses serve the people of Maine first, then the people beyond the state's borders. "I serve the campus, the students here, and then extend that out to the state and beyond."
     Egan says that he values shared governance and has been meeting with the different academic division staff. "We will have a discussion about the shared mission" that will be inclusive. The environmental liberal arts mission, enacted in 2006, remains the academic core, but he says discussions need to take place that question what that means and the best path forward to serve students and community.

Nursing education seen as critical need
     Now, and over the next five years, the university system is implementing a comprehensive nursing education program. Egan gets right to the point of why it's important. "Maine's nursing workforce crisis is particularly challenging in Washington County, where nearly half of our existing nurses are over the age of 55. We are working to bring nursing education to Machias, starting with an accelerated, second‑degree program that will allow community members to transition quickly into local nursing jobs." He adds, "We have plans to upgrade science and lab spaces on campus pending voter approval of Question 4, the university workforce bond, to help support an expansion of nursing education in Washington County."
     According to a university system press release, by 2025 the number of nursing vacancies in Maine is projected to grow by 3,200 positions because of the size of Maine's aging demographic. Almost half of the nursing workforce is over the age of 55 in the state's rural coastal counties. To meet the demand, the state needs to attract 250 new nurses to Maine and educate an additional 400 license‑eligible Maine nursing graduates every year to overcome the workforce crisis. Maine's public universities educate the majority of Maine's license‑eligible, four‑year nursing graduates.
     To assist high school students interested in healthcare, UMM has launched the Early College Health Professional Certificate program, with the program offered online starting in fall 2019. High school students will have the opportunity to explore a career in healthcare and earn up to 19 transferable college credits at little or no cost to their families.

UMM to be part of five‑year nursing plan
     The Machias‑based campus will be part of a five‑year University Nursing Workforce Plan to expand nursing education at its campus. While dependent in part on voter approval of more than $12 million bond funding this fall, University of Maine System Chancellor James H. Page and the presidents of the University of Maine System campuses unveiled the plan on September 12 at the Wisdom Summit hosted by the Maine Council on Aging at the Augusta Civic Center.
The five‑year plan is expected to double total nursing enrollment across the system and more than double the number of locations across Maine where students can access pre‑licensure nursing education.
     Specific elements of the plan include: launching an accelerated second‑degree bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program in Machias that will provide degree‑holding adults from Downeast a two‑year transition into a local nursing career, and planned campus improvements in Machias to the science building and the facility that will host nursing training.
     The University of Maine at Fort Kent and University of Maine at Presque Isle have collaborated to launch a new BSN at the Presque Isle campus in the fall of 2018. The new nursing program is serving 20 students in a temporary space.
     The University of Maine is developing the Nursing Outreach to Rural Maine program that provides current holders of a baccalaureate degree a two‑year path to a pre‑licensure BSN. The curriculum for the advanced‑standing degree program is now being tested as part of a partnership with Acadia Hospital in Bangor, and UMaine currently has 23 students on an accelerated path to earning a BSN.
     University of Maine Augusta has been approved for its own BSN program based in Augusta and will be launching rural cohorts at UMA Centers in Brunswick, Ellsworth, Rockland and Rumford in the fall of 2019. UMA is anticipating a BSN nursing enrollment of more than 400 students in five years.

Free nursing education
     In the fall of 2018 the university system launched an initiative that completely covers tuition and mandatory fees for first‑year Maine students eligible for a federal Pell Grant who are attending the Augusta, Fort Kent, Machias and Presque Isle campuses. To better serve adult, career‑focused students, UMA and its UMA centers also commit to providing tuition and mandatory fee coverage for Pell‑eligible full- and part‑time transfer students.
     New nursing students with the greatest financial need will be able to participate in pre‑licensure BSN programs in Augusta, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Rockland and Rumford, without any tuition or mandatory fee obligations.

Additional nursing program partnerships
     The university system is involved in a number of additional planned program initiatives and partnerships in the nursing arena.
     The 2017 Maine Nursing Summit and regional workforce collaborations, led by the University of Maine System and healthcare industry partners, are creating new opportunities for clinical placements. The dedicated education unit established by Eastern Maine Medical Center, the University of Maine and Husson University is an example that has doubled clinical placement capacity.
     More than $4 million in investment and program innovations are planned to create an industry‑leading online nursing program that provides every Maine healthcare professional with affordable, online access to graduate nursing education that can be balanced with family, work and community obligations. Innovations will include time-condensed courses, frequent start dates, enrollment assistance, advanced outreach and high-touch student support services that are proven to help busy adults achieve program success.
     Online education opportunities that will be available to Maine healthcare professionals encompass a suite of programs offered by University of Southern Maine or UMFK including: RN to bachelor of science in nursing; master's of science in nursing; and doctor of nursing practice.
     The University of Maine System is planning a fall 2019 launch of the online programs and five‑year total online enrollment of more than 1,000 Maine and non‑resident health professionals.

 

 

 

 

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