Ursuline College to receive $2.2M federal grant

Fund will boost diversity in nursing workforce

Ursuline College in Pepper Pike has been approved for a $2.2 million federal grant to help improve diversity in the nursing workforce.

Funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is aimed at helping the college in Pepper Pike improve wraparound support services for undergraduate nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a focus on Black students and other underrepresented minorities.

“We are extremely gratified that the Health Resources and Services Administration saw value in our proposed initiatives and that the grant reviewers have confidence in our ability to make a difference in health care,” said Ursuline College President Sister Christine De Vinne in a news release.

“These efforts align well with Ursuline’s mission of transforming students for service, leadership, and professional excellence,” she added.

Titled STAR Scholars (for Success, Transformation, Achieve, Resilience), the Ursuline program aims to increase graduation rates for under-represented nursing students and further diversify the nursing workforce serving Greater Cleveland, the release stated.

“The STAR Scholars program will help address health inequities in our community by increasing the pipeline of diverse nurses entering the profession, and by increasing awareness among all nursing graduates of disparities and social determinants of health,” Patricia A. Sharpnack, dean of the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions, said in the release.

“More than 90% of Breen School of Nursing alumni work in designated Medically Underserved Communities following graduation, given the location of our college in Northeast Ohio and the prevalence of health disparities in the surrounding community,” Sharpnack added.

HRSA announced that Ursuline will receive $555,000 per year, renewable for four years.