Siena is the recipient of not one but two grants from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation totaling $575,000 to promote careers in nursing and health care.
With a grant of $325,000, Siena has launched the Nursing Scholarship/K12 Health Career Pipeline Program for underserved K-12 students, to promote college education and health care careers, and offer four-year nursing scholarships.
Siena will conduct a three-tier outreach program to build interest in health care careers, starting with publication of a children's book and lesson plan for elementary classes featuring Siena's Saint Bernard mascot that highlights health care workers and the positive impacts they make in our community.
“This program is directly in line with Siena College's mission to increase college access and equity for all students and strengthen the development of the pipeline for future healthcare workers,” said Allison Turcio, Ed.D., assistant vice president for enrollment and marketing. “Siena is committed to breaking down information and communication barriers to ensure that every student has the opportunity to pursue higher education and a healthcare career. The enrollment team has launched initiatives to increase access to higher education for several years, and this funding will build on that foundation for greater impact.”
Beginning this spring, Siena will introduce students in targeted area middle schools to the career skills and qualities that make good nurses and health care professionals. Siena will also develop and implement a college readiness and health care career education program for first- and second-year high school students, along with a free virtual college application “boot camp.”
Additionally, Siena will offer four to six Mother Cabrini Health Foundation nursing scholarships to students who enroll in Siena’s Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in nursing (Siena/Maria College Dual Degree) program and demonstrate exceptional financial need.
Siena will help address the nursing faculty shortage by creating the MCHF Pathway to Ph.D. Fellowship. An award of $250,000 will fund two master’s prepared nurses to pursue a Ph.D. in nursing education. A severe shortage of nursing faculty to teach future nurses compounds the already existing shortage of nurses in the field, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The situation is only expected to worsen, with the AACN projecting that one-third of current nursing faculty members in baccalaureate and graduate programs will retire by 2025. Siena’s new program addresses the current and immediate need to develop qualified faculty to support the workforce training required to educate the next generation of nurses.
Mother Cabrini is one of the largest foundations in the United States and the largest foundation focused exclusively on health care across New York State. Its goals are to bolster the health outcomes of diverse communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services.
