VA Announces New Nursing Academy Sites( Five Universities Partner with VA in ...),Health

Five Universities Partner with VA in Nursing Initiative

WASHINGTON, April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To provide compassionate, highly-trained nurses to serve the health care needs of the nation's Veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is establishing new partnerships with five of the country's finest nursing schools. With these new partnerships, the VA Nursing Academy will expand the number of collaborations between the department and nursing schools from 10 to 15.

"The expanded role of the Department of Veterans Affairs in the education of nurses will ensure the department has the nurses needed to continue our world-class health care for Veterans," said Dr. Linda D. Johnson, director of VA Nursing Academy. "The VA Nursing Academy expands the teaching faculty, improves recruitment and retention, and creates new educational and research opportunities."

The VA Nursing Academy is a virtual five-year pilot program with central administration in Washington. It expands learning opportunities for nursing students at VA facilities, funds faculty development of VA staff for additional faculty positions to competitively selected school partners. The five-year, $59 million program began in 2007.

Five nursing schools will form new partnerships with five VA medical centers and join the VA Nursing Academy this year. They are:

• Western Carolina University, Asheville, N.C.
• University of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala.
• University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu
• Pace University, Manhattan and Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Waynesburg University, Pittsburgh.

VA Nursing Academy already includes 10 partnerships: the VA medical center in Gainesville, Fla., with the University of Florida; the VA medical center in San
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