- Over 60 nursing students from Lansing Community College are graduating and entering the health care field amid a statewide nursing crisis
- Health care professionals emphasize that the crisis impacts both clinical and academic settings, highlighting the urgent need for more nurses.
- The Michigan Nurses Foundation is awarding $6 million in scholarships to help ease the financial burden on aspiring nurses.
- Graduates may also qualify for the state’s new Nurse Loan Repayment Program, offering up to $300,000 for those working in eligible health care facilities.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Tuesday morning, over 60 nursing students from Lansing Community College walked this campus for the last time before beginning their journeys into the health care field — a field that current professionals say is more crucial now than ever.
I'm your Lansing neighborhood reporter, Asya Lawrence, here with a look at the challenges facing the nursing industry across our neighborhoods — and how state organizations are working to ease some of the financial burdens.
"We have some nurses that want to go into hospice, some that want to do home care, some that want to do ER, some want to do Med-Surg, and some are thinking of going on for their BSN," said Dr. Teri Logghe, Director of Nursing at Lansing Community College.
There are many opportunities for recent nursing graduates like those at LCC, and according to health care professionals, there are openings to match every interest.
"We do have a huge nursing shortage, but we have a shortage not only in hospitals, but also on the academic side," said Dr. Teri Logghe/
Jessica Lannon with the Michigan Nurses Foundation has seen the shift in the field firsthand.
"Many years of short staffing, dangerous short staffing, and then we were hit with a pandemic that brought it to light even more," Lannon said.
Lannon says that while much has changed in nursing since she started, one concern remains top of mind for many nurses: the financial burden.
"I took out loans, a lot of loans. It was over $80,000." Lannon said.
That’s why the Michigan Nurses Foundation is awarding $6 million in scholarship funding to aspiring nurses across the state — with hopes of rebuilding the nursing workforce.
And once a nurse completes their degree, graduates can apply for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ newly launched Nurse Loan Repayment Program. It provides up to $300,000 to applicants who work at state psychiatric facilities or other eligible sites.
"We need to make sure that nurses are available to be there for the community and Michiganders when needed," Lannon said.
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