NDMU School of Nursing Awarded $1.7 Million Grant to Expand Academic Program

The School of Nursing at Notre Dame of Maryland University has been awarded a Nurse Support Program II (NSP II) Competitive Institutional Grant of $1,716,608.  The NSP II Program is funded by the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) and administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).

The five-year grant will assist NDMU’s School of Nursing in increasing the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses who can serve in Maryland hospitals and healthcare facilities.

The grant money will primarily be used to support RN-to-BSN curriculum revisions and the addition of online course offerings.

By 2021, this project has the potential to add nearly 700 new BSN-prepared nurses to Maryland’s workforce, keeping on track with MHEC’s Initiative 2: Advance the education of students and RNs to BSN, MSN and doctoral level.

Kathleen Wisser, Ph.D, RN, Dean of the School of Nursing at NDMU states, “Receiving this funding will enhance the School of Nursing’s efforts to improve the health of Maryland’s most vulnerable residents through revised and new courses, outreach, and service.  It will make our program stronger. Not only do we anticipate an increase in enrollment, this grant will help us attract additional faculty and staff.”

Maryland is one of 16 states that are projected to experience a nursing shortage through 2025, according to a 2014 report by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

Marleen Thornton, Assistant Professor in the NDMU School of Nursing will act as the Project Director with Dr. Wisser overseeing the NSP II grant.