Ivy Tech receives grant from IU Health

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University Health has awarded Ivy Tech Community College an $8.75 million grant to expand its nursing program and increase nursing student enrollment.

The grant will be used for investments necessary to support expanding enrollment, such as faculty and staff recruiting and compensation, educational equipment and student support services.

“Our health care systems in Indiana are in critical need of skilled nurses and Ivy Tech is well-positioned to deliver on this need,” said IU Health Executive Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive Jason Gilbert. “Currently there are qualified applicants each year in Indiana who are turned away from nursing schools due to limitations on teaching space, clinical placement availability and faculty resources. It is incumbent upon health systems, working with our educational partners, to support an expansion of the educational pipeline to allow more qualified students to become professional nurses.”

Labor market data indicates there are 4,300 annual openings for nurses, with a need for another 5,000 nurses by 2031. The expanded nursing program at Ivy Tech will increase nursing admissions by 600 students annually by 2025.

Ivy Tech currently offers nursing programs at 18 of its 19 campuses, with a program planned to launch in Hamilton County by early 2021. Ivy Tech currently graduates more than 1,300 associate-degree nursing students every year, with about 90% staying in Indiana.