FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 10, 2025
FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Pierpont Community & Technical College has been awarded $477,000 through West Virginia’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program, which is designed to address the state’s nursing shortage through a multifaceted approach to attract, train and retain nurses in the Mountain State.
Representing a fundamental part of this approach, an award program was established three years ago to fund nursing program expansion projects at colleges, universities, schools of nursing and career technical education centers across West Virginia.
Pierpont plans to use the funds to hire one additional full-time faculty member and several adjunct faculty members to accommodate increased enrollment. The college also will purchase simulation manikins and reality simulations and renovate the current licensed practical nurse (LPN) lab to accommodate more students. The investment is expected to support up to 24 additional nursing students at Pierpont, increasing the capacity to 52 total students this Fall. With this increase, are 16 seats available for a night and weekend cohort.
“This crucial funding will allow us to increase enrollment capacity, enhance our simulation laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment and help address the critical nursing shortage in our region,” said Amy Cunningham, dean of the School of Health Sciences.
Twenty-three grant awards were distributed to nursing programs statewide for the third year of the program. Funded projects build upon progress made in the first two years and are focused on increasing enrollment in pre-licensure nursing programs, timely degree completion and licensure for graduates.
Since its launch, West Virginia’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program has helped yield a nearly 25 percent increase in filled seats at nursing programs across the state.
The nursing program expansion awards, made possible by funding from the West Virginia Legislature, are administered by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and Community and Technical College System.
——
Media Contact:
Pierpont Community and Technical College
Office of Marketing and Communications
communications@pierpont.edu