“Fortunately, my dad pulled through, but my friend was not so lucky,” Meek said. “I learned that nurses held my friend’s phone, letting her Facetime with family after being extubated and as she passed. The kindness of nurses struck me over and over again – and solidified that nursing was my calling.”  

Fortunately for Meek, his transition from a marketing career to nursing was aided by a ’s workforce grant. A scholarship and funding support allowed him to take an accelerated path from work as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to earning a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). “Earning my BSN is something I knew I wanted to do, but cost and time were the initial prohibiting factors,” Meek said. “I know for certain that I would not be working on my BSN right now if it were not for this incredible scholarship opportunity.”

, the $3.9 million Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) grant was designed to create an accelerated LPN to BSN pathway to address Kentucky’s nursing shortage in medically underserved areas, as well as reduce financial barriers for working LPNs to advance their nursing education. 

Program helps transform student lives and communities

Enrollment soared from 24 students in the first year to 74 in the second year, and the program also has expanded from 19 to 41 Kentucky counties. Ninety-two percent of applicants and enrollees live in medically underserved areas. Based on current progress, 60 students are projected to complete a BSN degree within the next 24 months, strengthening the Registered Nurse workforce in rural and underserved communities.

“Not only are we making this program accessible to students but also having the scholarships and the stipends available has been a major factor why we have seen such growth in year one to year two,” said Heather Mitchell, project director and associate professor of nursing education. “Students are having a very positive experience and they’re going back and telling their peers.”

Through this , UofL is bringing baccalaureate education to all parts of the state and preparing nurses to serve the communities in which they live. Incorporating the best practices of online education ensures that even in the most rural and remote locations, students are able to attain the same high-quality education as someone who lives just two minutes away from UofL.

“Our students are participating in community-based experiences for the clinical education in their home areas and developing projects that directly impact those communities with tangible outcomes,” Mitchell said. 

����ֱ�� innovation through real-world scenarios

Innovation in nursing education is also a hallmark of the LPN to BSN program, including the use of simulations to expose students to scenarios they might encounter in their nursing practice. 

Through team collaboration, Mitchell, along with Simulation Director Christina Pennington, Program Director Diane Riff and Program Manager Joel Schmidt have created a simulation directory that blends academic and real-world learning. The directory includes scenarios on respiratory disease in coal regions, gun violence trauma response, mental health and homelessness, among others. 

The students aren’t the only ones to benefit from these resources. Each simulation is being embedded into RN-BSN online courses and being prepared for public release as open-source resources with full documentation, ensuring broad access. This will extend the impact to nursing programs statewide and nationally.

Mitchell said she is proud the innovative program is providing such an enriched experience for students. Schmidt agrees. “I receive comments from students about how much these scholarships and stipends mean, and how anchored in purpose these students feel for being able to go back and work in their own community. It’s something bigger than themselves.” 

Data from the , the , and the document the significant need for additional nurses in Kentucky. The School of Nursing’s ongoing commitment to increase access to quality nursing education across the commonwealth is helping to address local, state and regional health care workforce shortages.

“Our objective is to address the shortage of practice-ready registered nurses by increasing access to baccalaureate nursing education across Kentucky,” said Whitney Nash, dean of UofL School of Nursing. “This collaborative effort with health care partners will provide greater opportunity to recruit and train more nurses, and meet workforce needs in medically underserved areas of Kentucky.”

The funding provides greater opportunities for students to obtain significant financial support, therefore reducing the amount students need to work while pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. The award also will help lessen student loan debt and provide students guaranteed employment upon graduation.

These dedicated HWIF scholarships, in addition to the school’s other academic scholarships, will increase the overall number of financially supported nursing students at UofL.

Research shows that an increased ratio of BSN-prepared nursing staff within a health care facility can lead to improved patient outcomes with regards to mortality, post-surgical complications, rapid response recognition, length of stay and readmissions.

With nine Kentucky counties in the UofL Health service area and 16 counties in the Owensboro Health service area, UofL BSN graduates employed by these health care partners can impact the health of Kentuckians in 21% of the commonwealth’s counties – the majority of which are designated rural and medically underserved areas.

“This grant and health care partnership make a BSN education more accessible and affordable for students, which is a true win-win for the community and the commonwealth,” Nash said. 

Hardin will start on Aug. 13, serving as acting dean until the UofL Board of Trustees approves her appointment.

“I am excited to join UofL,” Hardin said. “The School of Nursing has an exemplary leadership team, nationally-renowned faculty and an outstanding cadre of staff, students, distinguished alumni and supporters who are well positioned to impact the health of individuals, families and communities.”

Hardin will replace Marcia J. Hern, who in 2017 announced her plan to retire from the school after an 11-year tenure as dean.

“Dr. Hardin will expand upon the advancement that has occurred in the past decade at the School of Nursing, which has seen growth in programs, learning space and student enrollment,” said Greg Postel, MD, executive vice president for health affairs at UofL.

“Many thanks to Dr. Hern for agreeing to remain as dean during the search process. Under her leadership, the school added two graduate programs, established the only traditional nursing baccalaureate program in Owensboro and underwent significant classroom and clinical simulation lab expansion. Student standards have risen and pass rates on the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses exceed the national average.”

Hardin is a nurse practitioner specializing in care for older adults, and her research has focused on symptom management and issues surrounding inpatient critical care of the geriatric population.

While at East Carolina University, she led a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services titled the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, which created a comprehensive approach to caring for older adults in the eastern region of North Carolina. Working with community partners, the initiative established an interprofessional education model, trained primary care providers to meet the needs of older adults and created community-based programs for rural older adults and their families.

Hardin has co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and three books with topics focusing on geriatric care, critical care for older adults and chronic disease. In 2017, she became a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, one of the highest honors in the profession.

Incorporating entrepreneurship and technology into practice, Hardin worked with an engineer team at East Carolina University to create a device that quantitatively measures edema in the lower extremity. The group has received a provisional patent on the device.

“Dr. Hardin is an innovative leader with a proven record of providing strategic direction at academic medical centers and nursing schools,” said Toni Ganzel, MD, MBA, dean of the UofL School of Medicine, who led the School of Nursing dean search committee. “She brings a unique skill set to bolster the research mission and visibility of the School of Nursing, build robust partnerships and advance the school in educating the next generation of nurses.”

Hardin joined the nursing college at East Carolina University in 2013, where she started the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program and oversaw accreditation of the doctor of nursing practice, certified registered nurse anesthetist and midwifery programs. She previously had faculty positions at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Lenoir Rhyne College. Hardin started her career in 1982, working as a critical care staff nurse in several North Carolina hospitals and earned her adult nurse practitioner license in 2009.

Hardin has a PhD in nursing from the University of Colorado and master’s degrees in business and health administration from Pfeiffer University in North Carolina. She earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She also completed post-doctoral fellowships at Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.