The School of Nursing announced last month that it received a $2.9 million federal grant to combat a health care shortage in rural areas, including Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
The Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded SON the grant last month, which they intend to use to raise the number of students in the accelerated bachelor’s of nursing program and veterans’ nursing program, who will practice in rural areas after graduating, by 20 percent over a 4-year trial period. Ashley Darcy Mahoney, a professor of nursing, said the grant will help students and rural communities surrounding D.C. by expanding the nursing workforce, providing financial support to students pursuing degrees and expanding medical care in areas that have a shortage of nurses.
“This grant allows us to intentionally educate and support nurses who are prepared to live, work, and lead in the communities that need them most, strengthening the regional rural healthcare workforce,” Darcy Mahoney said in an email.
Darcy Mahoney, who leads the project along with Vice Dean Majeda El-Banna, said the cohort program will support 10 to 15 students each year who will live and work in rural communities. Applicants to the program must apply and be admitted into a School of Nursing pre-licensure track, including the accelerated bachelor’s program, which allows students to finish their degree in four consecutive semesters, or the veterans’ program, which provides a customized degree plan that incorporates veterans’ previous experience.
Darcy Mahoney said the motivation behind applying for the grant was the “urgent need” to serve patients in rural communities, particularly those surrounding the D.C. area. A HRSA national workforce report published last month found that nonmetro areas nationally were projected to have a 19 percentage point higher nursing shortage than metro areas in 2028.
Virginia health officials project the state could be short more than 20,000 nurses within the next decade. In Maryland, hospital registered nurse vacancy rates stood at 16.1 percent in FY 2024, remaining above pre-pandemic levels. West Virginia hospitals reported some of the most acute gaps, with a 20.9 percent vacancy rate for licensed practical nurses and thousands of licensed hospital beds left unstaffed statewide, according to the state’s hospital association data.
Darcy Mahoney said the school’s location on the Ashburn campus makes it “uniquely positioned” to support surrounding communities in West Virginia and the DMV area.
She said the grant will have a “direct, tangible” impact on students, as a large portion of the money will go towards reducing financial burden through scholarships. Students could receive up to $30,000 in tuition support, tailored academic and career advising and networking with rural health system partners as part of the program, Darcy Mahoney said.
Darcy Mahoney said for the grant to be effective in helping students understand rural healthcare issues, students in the cohort will receive specialized training in rural health, including expanded rural clinical placements, simulation experiences and interprofessional education activities focused on rural and underserved populations.
She added that while the core of the accelerated bachelor’s program will remain unchanged, students selected for the cohort will have targeted experiences that will prepare them for acute and long-term rural care.
Darcy Mahoney said the grant is operating under a four-year trial period during which the program leads are looking at student recruitment and retention, specialized training completion, workforce readiness, faculty and preceptor capacity and the sustainability of partnerships to assess its effectiveness. She did not specify what happens after the four-year period, which is set by the HRSA.
She said applying for the grant was an extensive and “highly collaborative” process with fellow faculty at the nursing school, including the school’s leadership team, like Dean Susan Kelly-Weeder. The application required clear plans for recruitment, retention, specialized training, clinical placement and evaluation, according to Darcy Mahoney.
Darcy Mahoney said the grant originated after the HRSA recognized a nursing shortage in rural and underserved areas. The agency has a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention – Workforce Expansion program, aimed at increasing the non-metro nursing workforce and offers multiple grants for organizations to apply. HRSA awarded almost $5 million in FY2024 to support increasing the nursing workforce in rural areas.
Darcy Mahoney said she was particularly motivated for this grant due to her clinical experience caring for medically fragile children who require long-term, complex care.
“Many of these children and their families live in rural and non-metro communities where access to pediatric specialty services, long-term care pediatric facilities, and nursing home health support is limited,” she said.
