Health Sciences System

Nevada System of Higher Education

WORK OF HEALTH SCIENCES SYSTEM TO MEET STATE’S NURSING DEMAND GARNERS NATIONAL ATTENTION
Team of Nevada representatives invited to national
conference on meeting nursing workforce needs

The work of the Health Sciences System (HSS) to meet the nursing workforce demands for the state of Nevada has garnered national attention.  A team of representatives from Nevada has been invited to participate in a national summit this week to address nursing education and workforce needs of the country.

The Health Sciences System has hosted a series of statewide meetings to bring together leaders from the education and health provider fields including the public and private nursing colleges, the Nevada Sate Board of Nursing, the Nevada Workforce Investment Board, the Nevada Hospital Association and its member hospitals as well as a representative from Health Plan of Nevada.  

Dr. Jim Lenhart, Health Sciences System Vice-Chancellor said, “the summit attendees united in a common purpose and shared goal of creating a premiere system for nursing education and practice to increase our nursing workforce and ensure a healthy Nevada.”

During the statewide meetings, attendees discussed concepts leading to transformation of nursing education and nursing practice. Focusing on quality as well as quantity, attendees considered issues like creating shared vision, collaborative strategies, effective partnerships, open communication, leadership, accountability and respect for stakeholders.

Some of the participants from the Nevada summits will now head to the national summit in Baltimore to help address the growing need for qualified trained nurses across the country.

The hosts of the national Nursing Education Capacity Summit, including the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the AARP, invited a team of Nevada representatives to attend the summit based on the work the HSS has done to bring Nevada’s nursing leaders together to address the state’s own nursing workforce challenges.  The five member team consists of Dr. Jim Lenhart, Vice-Chancellor of the Health Sciences System (team leader), Margaret Puccinelli, Dean of Nursing Great Basin College, Carolyn Yucha, Dean of Nursing UNLV, Rose Yuhos, Director of the Southern Nevada Area Health Education Clinic and Vicki Huber, Chief Nursing Officer at UMC.  The directors of the national summit are supplementing travel expenses for the Nevada team.

Dr. Maurizio Trevisan, CEO of the Health Sciences System said, “this is a tremendous opportunity for Nevada to participate in a national discussion on nursing workforce needs.  The Health Sciences System remains committed to our mission of encouraging collaboration and efficiency in meeting the health needs of Nevada, and I believe through this work we will continue to set an example for the rest of the country.”

As part of the series of Nevada meetings, and to further prepare for the national summit, members of the Nevada Nursing Summit met for the third time on January 29th and 30th in Las Vegas.  The national summit in Baltimore will take place February 4th and 5th.

More about the Health Sciences System:  The Health Sciences System (HSS) was established by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents in 2006. Its purpose is to address Nevada’s community health issues through a system-wide effort to integrate and expand the education of health professionals and to foster collaborative research in health and health care.  Through collaboration among the NSHE institutions and a broad range of external partners, the HSS intends to be a catalyst for improvement in the health and wellness of Nevada.  Visit us at:  http://system.nevada.edu/

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