Nebraska

Creighton nursing program helps battle nursing shortage in central Nebraska

Published

11 months ago

August 10, 2023

Creighton nursing program helps battle nursing shortage in central Nebraska

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – Creighton University hosted its nursing program’s graduation and traditional pinning ceremony Wednesday morning. Although the school is located in Omaha, the commencement took place in Grand Island.

Sixteen nursing students graduated at the Riverside Golf Club. The students were involved with Creighton’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

The reason for the ceremony taking place in Grand Island is thanks to the ‘3+1′ dual-degree program, which allows students to spend three years at Concordia University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Wayne State College, Hastings College or York University. The student must have an undergraduate degree in a different major to be in the program.

Jamie Hofferber is a Lexington native and will be going to Cozad to work inside the emergency room. For Hofferber, the program helped her improve her skills.

“I have been a medical assistant, a certified medical assistant for 12 years and have been in the health care field for a long time,” Hofferber said. ” I wanted to expand my scope practice, and the accelerated program did that for me. I am from central Nebraska, so I think becoming a nurse to take care of central Nebraskans is going to be a dream come true.”

The medical field has its challenges, but Hofferber has inspiration from the family tree.

“I think the end goal is doing this for my sons,” Hofferber said. “I am a single mom to two boys and doing that for them and becoming a nurse to take care of people in central Nebraska.”

Since the nation is suffering from a nursing shortage, faculty chair member Joely Goodman says this program keeps talented individuals in Nebraska.

“Out of the 16 who graduated, more than half are staying in Central Nebraska for employment,” Goodman said. “There have been jobs that have been accepted in Cozad, Kearney, Grand Island, Hastings and Lincoln. We have had a really nice distribution of where students wanted to work for their first job after graduating.”

Goodman says that Thursday’s class of graduates is a little larger than other classes, which average about 12. Since the program ends with CHI Health St. Francis, it is an incentive to keep local graduates in the state.

“The program here is a great fit and benefit of this area of the state because many of the graduates are sticking around and filling the much needed vacancies at area hospitals,” Goodman said.

According to the Nebraska Center for Nursing, the state will experience a workforce shortage of nurses by more than 5,000 in 2025. Kiley Grzywa is the vice president of patient care at CHI Health St. Francis and says having graduates from the program has helped the facility’s foundation grow.

“We are so blessed to have a program like Creighton’s program here in Grand Island, as it really allows local students to get a high quality program and allows them to stay close to home,” Grzywa said. “It is really beneficial and the success of that program as it is a really intensive program for them we really want to support them in having that family aspect.”

In fact, some of the current nurses at the hospital came from the program and see a new group of nurses every year.

“Over the last couple years, we have really seen the Creighton program blossom here in Grand Island,” Grzywa said. “We have had a number of students, and some of our local employees choose this program and decide to stay with us, which is exciting to watch them grow and become professional nurses.”

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Nebraska

Sidney graduate Karsyn Leeling earns Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year

Published

2 hours ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

Sidney graduate Karsyn Leeling earns Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year

SIDNEY, Neb. (KNOP) – Karsyn Leeling was named 2023-2024 Gatorade Nebraska Girls Track and Field Player of the Year. The Sidney High School athlete had a senior season to remember in track and field. In May she wrapped up her high school career with three Class B state championships claiming titles in the long jump, triple jump and the high jump. She would also break a state record in the high jump back in April.

Leeling went on to win a national title in the high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals clearing six feet even to earn All-American honors.

She maintained a 3.66 PGA in the classroom and will continue her track and field career at the University of Nebraska this coming fall.

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Nebraska

Pillen officially announces intent to call special session for Nebraska tax reform

Published

9 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Press Room

Pillen officially announces intent to call special session for Nebraska tax reform

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen took the next step in securing a special session in the state’s legislature this summer.

Gov. Pillen on Tuesday sent a letter to Speaker John Arch, officially announcing his plans to call senators back to Lincoln on July 25. The purpose of the session is to make more headway on addressing property taxes in Nebraska.

“In my sine die address in April, I stated that I would call a special session this summer to facilitate another opportunity for us to meet Nebraskans’ demand that their elected leaders fix this crisis now,” read the Governor’s letter, in part. “I have traveled extensively across the state since the Legislature adjourned and have heard from a wide range of people. Their message is clear: stop this massive overall tax increase by fixing property taxes.”

Gov. Pillen has been hosting town halls across the state over the past two months since the legislative session ended, working to educate Nebraskans on what he calls a “tax crisis.”

He still has several of those meetings planned:

Wednesday, June 26

1:30 p.m. (CT) Columbus: Columbus Chamber of Commerce, 753 33rd Ave, Columbus

Thursday, June 27

10:00 a.m. (CT) Valentine: Mid Plains Community College, 715 E Hwy 20, Valentine

1:00 p.m. (MT) Chadron: Chadron State College, Student Center – Lakota Room, 1000 Main Street, Chadron

4:30 p.m. (MT) Alliance: Westside Events Center, 2472 County Road 62, Alliance

Friday, June 28

8:30 a.m. (MT) Ogallala: Petrified Wood Gallery, 418 East 1st Street, Ogallala

1:00 p.m. (CT) McCook: Coppermill Steakhouse, 202 Coppermill St., McCook

4:00 p.m. (CT) Lexington: Central Community College – The Opportunity Center, 1501 Plum Creek Pkwy, Lexington

Along with slashing property taxes, Gov. Pillen also wants to ensure that the legislature knows he will call a special session regarding other “unfinished business” leftover from the 2024 legislative session, which could include Nebraska’s move to a “winner-take-all” state during elections.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 2.5% in May

Published

16 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 2.5% in May

Nebraska’s unemployment rate in May was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted rate of 2.5%. That rate is unchanged from September 2023 and up 0.4% from May 2023.

Nebraska’s rate is the fourth lowest in the nation. The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2024 is 4.0 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the April 2024 rate of 3.9 percent and up 0.3 percentage points from the May 2023 rate of 3.7 percent.

“Nebraska’s total nonfarm employment has been on an upward trajectory since February and reached an all-time high in May at 1,077,200,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin. “Omaha’s leisure and hospitality industry saw a large gain over the month, with all the metro areas reaching record highs in total nonfarm employment.”

Further details are available here

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