UR School of Nursing Extends Scholarships to Meet Region’s Health Care Needs
The University of Rochester School of Nursing is offering 50 percent tuition support in scholarships for its Care Manager Education, RN-to-BS completion and Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner programs to meet the educational needs of health care employees in the Finger Lakes region.
Infusing the region with graduates from the three programs will directly fill gaps in care to help patients achieve better health outcomes.
Currently, there’s a rising demand for nurses resulting from a transformation of the region’s Medicaid health care delivery system, through the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, regionally organized by the Finger Lakes Performing Provider System (FLPPS). New York State is using the DSRIP reform model to improve clinical outcomes and reduce avoidable ED use and hospitalizations by 25 percent over five years.
FLPPS — a not-for-profit organization representing a network of 28 hospitals, 3,000 health care providers and more than 600 health care and community-based organizations in a 13 county region — aims to address current shortfalls in the health care system, including the role of behavioral health in primary care and skilled nursing facilities, patient care transitions, chronic disease management, and integrating health care services across multiple care settings.
Care managers, baccalaureate-prepared nurses, and mental health nurse practitioners are integral members of the health care team, able to respond to growing patient needs, says Elaine Andolina, M.S., R.N., director of admissions at the School of Nursing.
“We are excited to support students who want to pursue the next step in their nursing education,” says Andolina. “Nurses who graduate with these degrees will play pivotal roles in strengthening care quality, improving prevention and management of chronic diseases, promoting health across populations, and controlling costs.”
The School of Nursing programs offering the new scholarships include:
- Care Manager Education program, an online program which prepares nurses and other health care professionals to work as patient advocates. Participants learn best practices and build skills and strategies that improve patient outcomes and patient care transitions. Rolling admissions. Learn more.
- RN to BS program, which enables registered nurses to earn a bachelor’s degree in as little as 16 months. Research has shown that lower mortality rates, fewer medication errors, and positive outcomes are linked to nurses prepared at the baccalaureate level. Nurses who earn a baccalaureate degree enjoy career mobility and opportunities for advancement and leadership in a range of health care settings. Rolling admissions. Learn more about this hybrid-online program.
- Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, which prepares nurse practitioners to help meet a growing demand for behavioral health services. Nurse practitioners in the psychiatric mental health specialty are essential to increase accessibility to vital services and provide comprehensive care to underserved populations with mental health issues across the region. Apply by Jan. 2 to begin this program in the summer semester. Learn more about this hybrid-online program.
Those eligible for the above scholarships include employees at UR Medicine affiliate organizations as well as individuals who live or work in the FLPPS 13-county region.*
To learn more or to apply to one of these School of Nursing programs, visit son.rochester.edu or call (585) 275-2375.