NC Senator Lisa Barnes and NC Representative Allen Chesser secured funding with the newly approved state budget for North Carolina Wesleyan University’s BSN Pre-Licensure program. On Monday evening, November 27, they visited the University’s campus to highlight this achievement with a $350,000 check presentation.
Senator Barnes endorsed the initiative, stating, “I fully support Wesleyan’s efforts to expand the BSN program, creating a pipeline for more nursing students to pursue their educational goals while providing well qualified healthcare staff to offset the shortages. It’s a win-win opportunity for our area.”
“Ensuring our community has access to high-quality healthcare workers will have positive impacts on the well-being of residents, as well as expanding access to quality local healthcare and creating local job opportunities,” said Representative Allen Chesser. “I am proud of the work Senator Barnes and I have been able to accomplish; to ensure valuable community partners such as NCWU so they can continue their great work for Nash County and our surrounding area.”
Both Representative Chesser and Senator Barnes are active in the districts they serve, which includes Nash County. They understand the positive impact a BSN Pre-Licensure will have on our community and they fully appreciate the significance North Carolina Wesleyan University has on our region.
NC Wesleyan currently offers a Post-Licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing through their online RN to BSN program, allowing a pathway for registered nurses with an associate degree to advance their professional role in the healthcare system. With this additional funding, the University will now be able to expand their offerings to include a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (BSN) Pre-Licensure program. This will provide nursing students with the clinical skills necessary to deliver safe, evidence-based quality care, earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing and sit for the NCLEX exam.
“The nursing faculty and I are are extremely grateful for the monetary contribution that NC Senator Lisa Barnes and NC Representative Allen Chesser have secured for NCWU’s prelicensure nursing program, as well as their support for nursing in our community. As the healthcare system continues to evolve and become more complex, it is imperative that we provide educational opportunities for students in our community and surrounding areas to enter the nursing profession and provide high-quality care to the residents in the rural communities that we serve. We look forward to growing the nursing program at NCWU and offering the prelicensure BSN option to our students,” stated Dr. Crystal Ostheim.
President Duff also acknowledged, “Dr. Dan and Brenda Crocker have also pledged $100,000 to our BSN Licensure program. As a retired physician from our community, Dr. Crocker understands the value and importance of having qualified nurses in our healthcare system. We are extremely grateful for this donation and their unwavering support of NC Wesleyan.”
Those in attendance included: Dr. Joe Lane, NCWU Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dan Bell, NCWU Board Member; Roger G. Taylor ’70, NCWU Board Member; Terri Sharpe, NCWU Board Member; Paul A. Bauer ’86, Chairman of the NCWU Board of Trustees; Allen Chesser ’19, NC Representative; Cindy Edwards, NCWU Senior Executive of Operations; Lisa Barnes, NC Senator; Mark Hinson, NCWU Senior Executive of Philanthropic Engagement; Dr. Evan D. Duff, NCWU President; Suzanne Brackett ’87, NCWU Senior Vice President of Administration; Thomas Winstead, NCWU Board Member; and Dr. Daniel L. Crocker, NCWU Board Member.
