(Butler, PA) Butler County Community College on Dec. 13 graduated six students who earned a practical nursing certificate through a selective-admissions program that addresses a regional shortage of employees in the high-priority occupation.
Allison Alwine, Yeng Carle, Ariel Festa, Anthony Reeves-Crouch, Kaitlyn Steighner and Delanie Toy completed the only practical nursing program in Butler County and were recognized during a ceremony in Succop Theater on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township.
The BC3 students, ages 21 to 44, received on their white nursing uniforms a pin recognizing their accomplishment.
“We are thrilled to have this practical nursing program,” said Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of BC3. “It’s exciting also that these students who are getting this credential can go immediately into the workforce.”
Dr. Patty Annear is dean of BC3’s Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health.
The graduates “were able to hit all the outcomes and the objectives to master what we think will produce a good practical nurse,” Annear said. “The program has to be rigorous and challenging as these folks will be working not only in extended-care facilities but in hospitals.”
The Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing in August 2021 authorized BC3 to create the 48-credit program on the college’s main campus. BC3’s 12-month program debuted in January 2022.
BC3 in the mid-1970s through mid-1980s graduated students from a practical nursing certificate program that was later discontinued.
“We are thrilled to have this practical nursing program. It’s exciting also that these students who are getting this credential can go immediately into the workforce.”
“Tripling the size of our program”
The college’s 2023 class enrolls 21 students who will begin Jan. 17.
“It is going to continue to grow,” Annear said. “And we are excited about that. We met the new students for orientation a few weeks ago, we have our extra faculty hired and we are looking forward to that second cohort and to tripling the size of our program.”
The annual demand for new licensed practical nurses or licensed vocational nurses is 71 in the Tri-County Workforce Development Area, which includes Armstrong and Butler counties, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry’s Center for Workforce Information and Analysis.
The need for licensed practical nurses or licensed vocational nurses is expected to grow by 6 percent through 2031, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Health care facilities in Armstrong and Butler counties employed nearly 600 licensed practical or licensed vocational nurses in 2021, according to Lightcast, an Idaho research company that conducts economic impact analyses for educational institutions.
Nearly 180 of those employees in 2021 were age 55 or older, according to Lightcast. About 40 openings are posted each month, and the median salary is $48,105, according to Lightcast.
“LPNs are going to make a really big stance in the hospitals. That’s a big deal.”
Licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses can monitor patients’ health, administer basic care, provide for basic comfort, report patients’ status and concerns to registered nurses and physicians, and keep records on patients’ health, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We had so much floor time”
Licensed practical nurses were once abundant in hospitals, Annear said.
“Now, with the shortage that has occurred since COVID-19, a lot of the hospitals are going back to the old model called team nursing, and LPNs are very instrumental in that process,”Annear said. “LPNs are going to make a really big stance in the hospitals. That’s a big deal.”
Practical nursing programs in Pennsylvania must provide to students at least 1,500 clinical, theory and lab hours, Annear said. BC3’s program incorporates 1,527. Its students completed clinical experiences at Concordia Lutheran Ministries, based in Cabot, and at Butler Memorial Hospital, Annear said.
“Our clinical experience was great,” said Festa, of Kittanning, who has worked as a certified nursing assistant. “We had so much floor time. We hit all the major topics in our courses.”
“There was a lot of variety and it prepared us well for what we are going to see as an LPN,” said Steighner, of Butler, who has worked as a medical technician. “I feel great. I feel ready.”
Alwine is from Kittanning; Carle, of Portersville; Reeves-Crouch, of Laneville; and Toy, of Freeport.
Graduates of Butler County Community College’s Class of 2022 in practical nursing are shown Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, near the Succop Theater on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township. From left, Allison Alwine, of Kittanning; Yeng Carle, of Portersville; Ariel Festa, of Kittanning; Kaitlyn Steighner, of Butler; Delanie Toy, of Freeport; and Anthony Reeves-Crouch, of Laneville.
BC3 practical nursing students who pass the post-graduation National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses could also enter BC3’s registered nursing program as second-year students.
The practical nursing program at BC3 is a result of a partnership forged in June 2020 with Concordia Lutheran Ministries.
Concordia’s tuition assistance program allows BC3 practical nursing and registered nursing students to complete their programs tuition-free.
BC3 nursing students who receive one year of tuition sponsorship from Concordia will be committed to work for the health care provider for two years. Those who receive two years of tuition sponsorship will be committed to work for Concordia for three years.
Five BC3 practical nursing graduates participated in Concordia’s tuition assistance program, and seven more are expected to do so in 2023, Annear said. Approximately 15 students in BC3’s 70-credit registered nursing program are participating in Concordia’s program, Annear said.
“There was a lot of variety and it prepared us well for what we are going to see as an LPN. I feel great. I feel ready.”
Grove City students seek BC3 RN degree
BC3 expanded its two-year career program in registered nursing in 2018 to BC3 @ Brockway in Jefferson County to address the high-priority occupation in the North Central Workforce Development area, which encompasses Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties.
The selective-admissions registered nursing program on BC3’s main campus and at BC3 @ Brockway enrolls 225, Annear said. It also includes 18 Grove City College students, half of whom in May are expected to earn an associate in applied science degree in registered nursing from BC3 as a result of a 2019 partnership between the institutions of higher education.
Grove City students are receiving two years of clinical and technical training through BC3 in their pursuit of a bachelor of science degree from the Mercer County institution.
