Lincoln, Neb. – The Covid-19 Crisis Response Workforce Cooperative Agreement has awarded Nebraska DHHS $3.6 million to allocate to Nebraska school-based health program support. Using work-study opportunities for students in Nebraska state-approved nursing programs, DHHS aims to provide nursing support to any K-12 school expressing need and expand the Nebraska public health workforce.
One of the school-based health programs being funded is the Nebraska Nursing Student School Health Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to develop a pipeline program to place nursing students and graduate nurses not currently working in school health settings. This will support the health and well-being of students and families while providing an opportunity for nursing students to get real-world experience in a school health setting. This will also provide student nurses an opportunity to experience a different work setting and potentially lead to a job upon graduation.
Nursing students will be placed in K-12 schools across the state of Nebraska. Over the course of one or several semesters, students will be exposed to a broad overview of public health issues at the local level. Nursing students will participate in a comprehensive program including, needs assessments, school testing, health education, and adding support to keep the general population safe. In addition, students will be able to attend seminars and trainings offered by DHHS throughout their enrollment.
“Nurses are a critical part of our public health workforce,” said Dr. Matthew Donahue, State Epidemiologist, and Acting Chief Medical Officer. “By providing opportunities for nursing students across the state to learn valuable skills within public schools before they graduate, we are able to enrich their learning experience and expose them to a setting they may not have previously considered for their future careers.”
During the 2023 spring semester, three Nebraska nursing programs will be participating in the program and going to local schools located in seven different geographical locations across the state. In subsequent semesters, more nursing programs and K-12 schools will have an opportunity to participate in the program.
For more information about the Nebraska Nursing Student School Health Initiative or other Nebraska school-based health programs, please visit the DHHS website at https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/
If you or your nursing program are interested in participating in this program please reach out to DHHS Program Manager Kelli Makerson at kelli.makerson@nebraska.gov.