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The 2019-2020 Nursing Application will be open April 15, 2019 – June 1, 2019. You can access the online application by visiting www.wvcenterfornursing.org or visiting www.cfwv.com under Financial Aid Planning>Find Scholarships. Follow us on Twitter for scholarship and program updates at @WVcentr4nursing.

Students must be a West Virginia resident enrolled in an accredited West Virginia nursing program. In return for the scholarship award, recipients must begin employment at an eligible work site in West Virginia within six months of graduation to avoid repayment. A recipient who fails to provide verification of meeting the service obligation will be obligated to repay the principal and any interest that accrues on the award amount.

Available Awards

• Licensed Practical Nurse – eligible students have completed at least one-half of their program.
  • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to work as an LPN in West Virginia for one year for each year an award(s) was received.
• Registered Nurse – eligible students have completed at least one-half of their RN program.
  • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to teach in an accredited WV nursing program or work as an RN in WV for two years for each year an award(s) was received.
• Master’s Degree or Doctoral Nursing or Education Program – eligible students are currently and continuously employed as an educator in a West Virginia school of nursing while pursuing his or her master’s or doctoral degree.
  • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to teach in a WV school of nursing for two years for each year an award(s) was received.
• LPN teaching certificate – eligible student must be accepted into a WV LPN teaching certificate program; be currently and continuously employed as a LPN educator by a WV LPN program while pursuing his or her LPN teaching certificate.
  • Service Obligation: A recipient is required to teach in WV LPN program for one year for each year an award(s) was received.

Submission Guidelines

The Nursing Scholarship Program has one award cycle for fall, spring and summer semester award.  The open application cycle is for ALL applicants.  Students should apply if they are or will be midpoint in their program during the award year. Applicants must indicate which semesters they are applying for and the schools will verify that the student remains in good standing in order to receive each semester’s award.   The Nursing Scholarship awards are made through a competitive review process, so please provide complete information by the application deadline.

WVCN Appoints Lissa Gonzalez as its New Administrator 

The Board of Directors of the West Virginia Center for Nursing has announced the appointment of Lissa Gonzalez, MSN, MBA, APRN, FNP-BC, as the Center’s administrator. Lissa joined the Center in late November 2018 after the retirement of the previous administrator Drema Pierson in July.

“I am pleased to be offered this opportunity and excited to take the Center into its next chapter,” Gonzalez said.

While still maintaining programs such as the scholarship program, clinical scheduling, and junior nursing academy, Gonzalez wants to expand the Center’s mission with nursing workforce data.

“I hope to optimize our data and make it useful to assist in strategic nursing workforce planning and development. Our mission at the Center for Nursing is to improve the health and healthcare of all West Virginians through strategic nursing workforce planning and development,” Lissa said.

Lissa began her nursing career with her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Kentucky. She completed her master’s degree in nursing at University of Pittsburgh and began working as a family nurse practitioner. While working as a nurse practitioner in primary care, she obtained another master’s degree, in business administration, from Ohio University. Lissa will continue a part-time clinical practice while working at the Center for Nursing.

The Center welcomes your feedback and support. You may contact Lissa at (304) 558-0838 or lissa.gonzalez@wvhepc.edu.

This is one in a series of HRSA reports on the health care workforce, in this case intended to provide information on the future demand for RNs and LPNs in LTSS. These occupations are faced with the challenges of a rapidly aging U.S. population, with longer life expectancy and rising burden of disease.

Looking to the future, many factors will continue to affect demand and supply of the LTSS workforce, including demographically driven demand for health services.10 For example, any potential future changes to the Medicaid program could play a role in determining service use, site of care, and workforce availability.

Policies to improve population health are likely to increase (rather than reduce) demand for nursing occupations in LTSS due to increased longevity, despite slight short-term declines in demand related to improvements in average health. Long term services Nursing projections HRSA

The Community and Technical College System of West Virginia (CTCS), the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) and the West Virginia Center for Nursing hosted a roundtable discussion regarding critical nursing shortages in West Virginia.   CTCS Chancellor Sarah Tucker, HEPC Chancellor Paul Hill, Administrator of the West Virginia Center for Nursing, Drema Pierson as well as, nurse leaders, educators and employers of nurses meet on Friday, March 17, 2017 at the Advanced Technology Center in South Charleston, WV to review nursing workforce data and examine best practices to guarantee an adequate supply of nurses into the future.

Panel Presentations can be found here

In 2016, the West Virginia Center for Nursing undertook a survey of nursing programs leading to the associate or bachelors degree preparing students for licensure as a registered nurse. The WV Center for Nursing presents these data for education planning, workforce planning, and potential legislative solutions to the continuing nursing and faculty shortage.

Click here to read more:   Nursing Faculty Survey 2016 Final