On Friday, Sept. 5, Verde Valley Medical Center and Yavapai College officially expanded their partnership in providing allied health education to the Verde Valley through the signing of a three-year contract. A small gathering at the college consisting of administrators, faculty, students, community members and VVMC representatives were present for the occasion.

Verde Valley Medical Center will provide $150,000 in faculty funding to the college in year one, with the college committing employee benefits equal to approximately 28 percent of wages. In year two, an additional full-time position will be added, bringing the total VVMC funding support to $200,000 per year.

Currently, nursing students at the Verde Valley Campus rely on interactive television or online courses to receive instruction from nursing faculty at the Prescott Campus. This partnership now will allow students on the Verde Valley Campus the ability to work directly with nursing faculty, resulting in additional opportunities for essential group activities and hands-on practice.

“We are pleased to provide this funding to Yavapai College in support of you – our future nursing and clinical personnel,” said Richard Henn, Northern Arizona Healthcare director of Education. “I applaud your dedication, commitment and hard work, which you have demonstrated though the quality of your work and high GPAs. We are committed to continuing this successful partnership between VVMC and Yavapai College for many years to come.”

According to recent statistics, there will be 213,000 vacant jobs in the nursing field by the year 2010. In Arizona, the Governor’s Task Force on the Nursing Shortage characterizes the state’s shortage of registered nurses as a “crisis of critical proportion.”

“We always have wanted to create a stand-alone nursing program on this campus,” said Executive Dean Tom Schumacher. “This new agreement will provide three additional nursing faculty members. With state funding shrinking for community colleges it’s this type of partnership that keeps specialized programs in our community at a reasonable cost.”