Lake Region News

New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen visited Plymouth State University Tuesday morning, January 17, to meet with nursing program students and faculty and to tour its nursing program facilities. Shaheen secured $2.1 million for PSU as part of the final government funding bill for fiscal year 2023 to support nursing workforce expansion.  

Specifically, the funding will enable the university to renovate the historic Samuel Read Hall Building, which has been home to PSU’s nursing program since 2015, to expand the available physical learning space for the program, including its clinical simulation lab. 

“We were honored to welcome Senator Shaheen to campus to tour our current nursing facilities and simulation lab and visiting with nursing students, faculty and staff,” said President Donald Birx, Ph.D. “The senator’s securing of CDS funding enables PSU to continue to grow our nursing program allowing us to continue to educate New Hampshire’s next generation of nurses.” 

PSU Clinical Associate Professor Julie Fagan, Clinical Assistant Professor Laura Rogers, Clinical Assistant Professor Kerri Reynolds, and academic operations manager Karen Coughlin gave Shaheen an overview of the nursing program and plans for its expansion as she toured the facility. PSU nursing students Christopher Bilotti of Ashby, Massachusetts and Ashleigh Magoon of Holderness, New Hampshire, both juniors, showed her the clinical simulation lab where students gain hands-on experience in life-like clinical scenarios. 

“We’ve experienced the dire challenges posed by shortages in our nursing workforce – particularly amid the pandemic. Now is the time to invest in robust nursing training and support to put quality health care within reach for every Granite Stater. I’m excited to secure funding for PSU’s Nursing Workforce Expansion project to do just that,” said Shaheen.  

A senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen worked to include federal support for myriad New Hampshire projects in the final government funding legislation for fiscal year 2023, including expanding access to health care, updating water infrastructure, increasing affordable housing and more. Her efforts resulted in $111, 359,972 for 105 New Hampshire projects, including the $2.1 million for PSU’s nursing program.

Original source can be found here.