Governor Justice Allocates Funds to Expand Nursing Program at BridgeValley Community and Technical College

(South Charleston, WV) On Tuesday, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced new funding will be provided to improve education, retention, and recruitment for nursing programs at three state schools, including BridgeValley Community and Technical College (BVCTC). 
Governor Justice said he will be using $48 million dollars from federal CARES Act money to help alleviate staffing shortages at the state’s hospitals through an aggressive new program to recruit and train more qualified nurses in the state of West Virginia. The funds will be distributed by the Higher Education Policy Commission between BridgeValley Community and Technical College to expand its current nursing program, and Concord University and Glenville State College for the purpose of starting nursing programs at the institutions. 
“Nursing education is a cornerstone program at our college,” said Dr. Casey Sacks, BVCTC President. “We are thrilled to be a part of this initiative; in the past 30 years, we have already graduated more than 1,000 nurses employed in the region. BridgeValley is positioned to make the most of these grant dollars, by expanding an already outstanding program.” 
As West Virginia continues to face nursing shortages, with 1,700 nurses choosing not to renew their licenses in 2020 - 68 percent of which said they were too tired to keep working, and the number of COVID related hospitalizations continues to rise, the governor hopes the funding used to train and teach new nurses will help reverse the shortage. The significant investment demonstrates Justice’s commitment to providing quality nurses throughout West Virginia.