NEWS RELEASE
The Boone Career and Technical Center has been awarded $553, 387.55 through West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program, which is designed to address the state’s nursing shortage through a multifaceted approach to attract, train, and retain nurses in the Mountain State. Representing a fundamental part of this approach, an award program was established to fund nursing program expansion projects at colleges, universities, schools of nursing, and career technical education centers across West Virginia.
Through the $553,387.55 award, the Boone Career and Technical Center plans to develop a new Licensed Practical Nursing Program (LPN). The investment is expected to support up to 30 new nursing students at the Boone Career and Technical Center.
The LPN program will serve prospective nurses in Boone County and the surrounding areas, providing learners with all the resources they need to be successful nurses. Interested students may apply online at www.gobctc.com or in person at the Boone Career and Technical Center 3505 Daniel Boone Parkway Suite B, Foster, WV 25081.
The nursing program expansion awards are administered by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and Community and Technical College System. Twenty-six funded projects across the state were announced by Gov. Justice on March 17. Approved projects were required to be focused on increasing enrollment in pre-licensure nursing programs through innovative approaches focused on timely degree completion and licensure for graduates.
“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Justice for providing this historic funding to support the expansion of nursing education programs across West Virginia,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education. “Through these new projects, our postsecondary education community will be better positioned to help shore up West Virginia’s nursing workforce – which, in turn, will help support our nurses working tirelessly on the front lines right now.”
Governor Justice announced the West Virginia Nursing Workforce Expansion Program in December 2021 by dedicating $48 million to support new and expanded initiatives that will train new nurses, fully fund the West Virginia Nursing Scholarship Program, value nurses already practicing in the state, and recruit nurses into West Virginia.