Nursing class

Georgia's new Health Professional Initiative allows Georgia Highlands College to have larger nursing class

By Juliana Hunt
Guest Writer

Twenty additional students are in the freshman nursing class thanks to Georgia's new Health Professional Initiative, announced by Gov. Roy E. Barnes on July 10.

The Health Professional Initiative falls under the University System's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP).

According to the ICAPP website, "The Office of Economic Development of the University System of Georgia was created by the Chancellor and the Board of Regents in 1995 to leverage the vast resources of the state's 34 public colleges and universities on behalf of Georgia's economic development." The ICAPP program is the "centerpiece" of the University System's economic development programs. ICAPP works by helping universities and colleges provide appropriate training for identified businesses.

In the spring of 2002 Georgia Highlands College applied for a grant from the state. When the grant was approved, Georgia Highlands College received $117,110 for the nursing program. The money was used to provide a full-time instructor and a part-time lab instructor. The money will also be used to supply new lab equipment and to enhance the library's nursing collection.

Under the partnership program Emory Cartersville, Floyd Medical Center and Redmond Regional Medical Center have committed to hiring 20 graduates. The hospitals have also put up money to make the partnership work. Emory Cartersville allotted $40,000, Floyd Medical Center $25,000 and Redmond Regional Medical Center $54,600. This money will also go to pay instructor salaries and for equipment.

According to Dr. Virginia Carson, vice president for academic affairs, the "tuition funds will be allotted to each ICAPP student when the state plans for the initial funding year are completed." For a nursing student to enroll in the ICAPP program at Georgia Highlands College, he or she must be a full-time freshman nursing student, commit to work in Georgia for two years and have a 2.5 GPA. The hospitals and the ICAPP committee of Georgia Highlands College set the criteria.