Grant to expand nursing education program in Northeast Kingdom

LYNDONVILLE, Vt. (WCAX) - The Vermont State Colleges System is expanding its nursing program in the Northeast Kingdom.

Federal funding secured by Vermont’s congressional delegation will expand Vermont Technical College’s nursing program on the NVU-Lyndon campus.

Thanks to a matching gift, about $300,000 will help transform part of Vail Hall into the Clinical Nursing Education Center.

The expansion is expected to add capacity for up to 60 additional nursing students within the next three years to help alleviate a nursing shortage across the state.

“We have a crisis but it is a crisis that I think can be solved. Nursing is the backbone of health care in this state, in the country, we have young people who want to do the work and we’ve got to give them the opportunity to do that,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.

The first class is set to begin the new program in the space next fall.

The Vermont Talent Pipeline forecasts a need for 900 skilled nurses in Vermont per year, while in 2019 only 421 completed LPN and RN licensure programs in the state.

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