Veteran nursing students at Southeastern to get $1.2 million VIP treatment
Friday, September 13, 2019
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University has been awarded a Veteran Nurses
in Primary Care Health Resources and Services Administration grant. The three-year,
$1.2 million grant was awarded for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences project
titled “Louisiana Increasing Opportunities for Nurse Veterans in Primary Care – LION
VIP CARE.”
Southeastern is partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers and State
Public Health Units in the Florida Parishes region to provide primary care clinical
experiences for undergraduate veteran and active military nursing students.
“LION VIP CARE will provide opportunities for veteran/military undergraduate
nursing students to develop primary care competencies and complete community-based
clinical training experiences in FQHCs and PHUs located in rural and medically underserved
communities,” said School of Nursing Department Head Ken Tillman. “This will be achieved
through recruitment, retention, and support of veteran/military undergraduate nursing
students and by providing curriculum enhancements and academic clinical partnerships
in community-based primary care.”
Tillman said the project will provide ongoing support to veteran/ military undergraduate
nursing students by incorporating a student success coach and dedicated nursing academic
advisor. A stipend will be provided to student participants while enrolled in nursing
courses.
“The LION VIP CARE project will provide a professional development training workshop
for nurses on primary care nursing competencies, roles and scope of practice, and
offer an interdisciplinary professional training workshop on the health needs of veterans,
including chronic disease prevention and control, mental health and substance use
disorders, as well as military cultural competence,” he explained.
An additional goal of the project, Tillman said, is to increase employment of
veteran/military undergraduate nursing students in community-based primary care settings
in rural and medically underserved areas following graduation.
In an effort to assist veteran students, Southeastern houses an Office of Veteran
Services that serves as an intermediary between veterans, or their family members,
who are seeking or receiving educational benefits and Veterans Benefits Administration.
The office strives to provide veteran students with the tools and education benefits
needed to succeed in college.
Southeastern was also named a 2019 Military Friendly School for the seventh consecutive
year. Viqtory Media, publisher of “G.I Jobs,” states the listing honors the top colleges,
universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace the nation’s military
service members, veterans, and spouses as students and to ensure their success on
campus.
For more information on LION VIP CARE, contact the School of Nursing at nursing@southeastern.edu.
The LION VIP CARE project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award
totaling $1.2 million dollars. The contents of this press release are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement,
by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
