Nursing Forward: 62 Programs Launching Or Expanding In 2024

By Mariah Taylor 

Here are 62 organizations launching or expanding nursing programs:

1. Odessa (Texas) College opened enrollment for its flexible nursing program.

2. Mansfield-based University of Connecticut's Storrs is creating a new school of nursing after a $50 million donation.

3. Baltimore-based McDaniel College is moving its Bachelor of Science and Nursing program to Westminster, Md.-based Carroll Hospital, including offices, nursing classrooms, and labs.

4. New Castle, Del.-based Wilmington University and Newmark-based ChristianaCare are opening Delaware's first nurse anesthesiology program.

5. Akron Children's and The University of Akron, both based in Ohio, partnered on an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing degree program through Akron Children's Career Launch Program.

6. Knoxville-based University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing has opened a new Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

7. Durham, N.C.-based Duke's School of Nursing created a direct-entry master's degree program that allows people without an undergraduate degree to obtain a master's in nursing.

8. Toms River, N.J.-based Ocean County Vocational Technical School opened a two-year pre-nursing program for high school students.

9. Bluefield (W.Va.) State University is converting its former Bluefield Regional Medical Center into the university's medical education center.

10. Camp Hill-based Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center unveiled a nursing simulation lab.

11. Orlando, Fla.-based Nemours Children's Health is investing $2.5 million in pediatric nursing education, training, innovation and research at University of Central Florida's Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion.

12. The American Nurses Foundation awarded a $339,000 grant to Southern University and A&M College, a historically Black institution in Baton Rouge, La.

13. Far Rockaway, N.Y.-based St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, part of Episcopal Health Services, launched a 12-month nurse residency program.

14. Fort Worth-based University of North Texas Health Science Center opened its College of Nursing.

15. New York City-based Montefiore Medical Group opened its Nurse Practitioner Fellowship in Primary Care.

16. Sandy Lake, Pa.-based Primary Health Network launched its certified registered nurse practitioner program.

17. St Albans City, Vt.-based Northwestern Medical Center launched its nursing pathways expansion, which welcomed seven nurse apprentices to their prerequisites Community College of Vermont, and added 13 current employees to its three-year educational pathway to registered nursing.

18. Fairfield (Conn.) University expanded its doctoral nurse anesthesia program into Austin, creating the first doctoral program of its kind in Central Texas.

19. Palm Springs, Calif.-based Desert Care Network and the Tenet Healthcare Foundation expanded nurse training with a $1.8 million grant to OneFuture Coachella Valley, also in Palm Springs, which will add an additional 70 students to the program.

20. Richmond, Ind.-based Reid Health joined the Vizient and American Association of Colleges of Nursing Nurse Residency Program and welcomed its first class Aug. 5.

21. East Carolina University and ECU Health, both based in Greenville, N.C., are launching a new graduate-level certificate program called the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program.

22. Cooperstown, N.Y.-based Bassett Healthcare's Nurse Residency program graduated its first cohort of nurses.

23. Fairfield (Conn.) University expanded its nurse anesthesia program into Austin, the first doctoral program of its kind in central Texas.

24. Pepper Pike, Ohio-based Ursuline College is adding five more online master of science in nursing options, bringing its total online programs to six.

25. Edinburg, Texas-based DHR Health is adding a dozen nurse students to its new nurse apprenticeship program with Rio Grande Valley College.

26. The School of Nursing at Pittsburg State University received a 1.5 million grant to train more nurses to be Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners.

27. Germantown, Md.-based Montgomery College was awarded over $1.5 million in grants to enhance professional development for the nursing faculty and purchase simulation equipment and supplies.

28. Wisconsin’s Department of Safety and Professional Services is allowing nursing students that are ready to take the national nursing exam to get licensed within three business days of graduation.

29. Lake Charles, La.-based McNeese State University launched a program that will help 18 licensed practical nurses receive their bachelors in nursing.

30. The Texas Department of Agriculture and Agricultural commissioner opened a Rural Nursing Recruitment and Retention program to incentivize nurses to work in rural areas of Texas.

31. Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine launched a four month program that can move students straight into working as a patient care technician or transition into nursing school.

32. Fayetteville, Ark.-based The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing was awarded $1.19 million to grow its nursing program by expanding nurse apprenticeship programs, increasing nurse educator recruitment and retention, and upskilling nurse professionals.

33. University of Arkansas in Fort Smith is reviving its associate of applied science nursing degree.

34. Indianapolis-based Butler University is launching a new bachelor of science in nursing with coursework that will touch on topics such as social determinants of health, diverse patient populations, and AI and other tech.

35. Orlando, Fla.-based AdventHealth University is expanding its whole-person nursing education model to Tampa, with classes beginning in January 2025.

36. Hartford, Conn.-based Goodwin University is launching a new licensed practical nursing certificate program.

37. Oregon Health & Science University is adding a third location to its accelerated bachelor's degree in nursing by bringing it to Bend, Ore.

38. Bozeman-based Montana State University broke ground on a new nursing education building to host the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing’s Missoula campus.

39. Tampa-based USF Health College of Nursing launched a graduate certificate program in hospice and palliative care.

40. Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health is keeping more retired nurses connected to the system through its Nurse Emeritus program. Since its launch, 12 retired nurses have joined the program and work in departments ranging from medical-surgical to the neonatal intensive care unit.

41. Amarillo-based West Texas A&M University is expanding its nursing program to specialize in mental health.

42. Burlington-based The University of Vermont is launching a new direct-entry master's program.

43. Drake University launched a program that will allow some students to gain a bachelor of science in health science and a bachelor of science in nursing in an accelerated one-year program.

44. Minneapolis-based Allina Health established an RN residency program.

45. Galax, Va.-based Twin County Regional Healthcare, a part of Lifepoint Health, launched a new nurse residency program.

46. Bozeman-based Montana State University has been authorized to start a nurse-midwifery track in its existing doctor of nursing practice program.

47. Richlands, Va.-based Clinch Valley Health launched a nurse residency program.

48. Orono-based University of Maine School of Nursing received a $1.96 million grant to provide financial support to approximately 40 students pursuing a master of science in nursing with a family nurse practitioner concentration.

49. Columbus-based The Ohio State University College of Nursing launched an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program for students who have finished college in a non-nursing field but wish to pursue a career in nursing.

50. Fountain Hill, Pa.-based St. Luke's University Health Network received a $1.4 million grant to support nurse education and workforce development in rural areas.

51. Winchester, Va.-based Shenandoah University's Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing is offering assured admission to its master's of nursing programs to anyone who completed their Bachelor of Science in nursing at the school.

52. Atlanta-based Georgia State University opened a 14,500-square-foot clinical skills and simulation center with 48 hospital beds and room for 80 nursing students.

53. Lincoln Memorial University is expanding its bachelor's of nursing program to Lexington, Tenn.

54. Wilmore, Ky.-based Asbury University and Lexington-based University of Kentucky College of Nursing partnered on a dual enrollment agreement allowing students to obtain both a bachelor's degree and a Bachelor of Science in nursing in under five years.

55. Gainesville, Texas-based North Texas Medical Center launched its first nurse residency program to train recent registered nurse graduates, nurses bridging from licensed vocational nurse to RN, and nurses new to acute care as they learn the ins and outs of their new jobs.

56. The Jersey College School of Nursing opened at Dothan, Ala.-based Flowers Hospital.

57. Dallas College is expected to begin its new Bachelor of Science in nursing program in summer.

58. University of Louisville (Ky.) School of Nursing received $6.5 million in federal grants to expand its LPN-to-BSN and nurse practitioner programs.

59. The Arizona College of Nursing, a for-profit school based in Phoenix with additional campuses across 11 states, will soon open two locations in a 12th: Wisconsin.

60. Boise (Idaho) State University recently launched additional Doctor of Nursing Practice degree tracks.

61. Atlanta-based Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing received a grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to participate in its nurse anesthetist traineeship program.

62. Martinsburg, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine's Berkeley Medical Center and Ranson, W.Va.-based Jefferson Medical Center partnered with Blue Ridge Community and Technical College to create a program that allows nursing students to receive up to $25,000 over the course of four semesters if they agree to work at one of the medical centers afterwards.