Bresnahan and Dr. Oz visit LCCC, highlighting the need for nurses and the importance of rural health care
NANTICOKE — Dr. Mehmet Oz and U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. toured Luzerne County Community College’s nursing facilities Friday, observing training exercises ranging from virtual reality simulations to CPR demonstrations.
Oz and Bresnahan met with college leadership and students to discuss the nursing curriculum and see how simulation equipment is used to meet requirements.
“We had an incredible opportunity to meet with some of our next-generation nursing students,” Bresnahan said. “We got to experience virtual reality, and just see the incredible opportunities Luzerne County Community College has to offer.”
The visit served in part to highlight recent investments in rural and regional health care workforce development.
“I must say our biggest shortage, I think, in America right now, is nursing,” said Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “We’re looking for ways of getting more people trained in community colleges because we know when nurses train in a community, they stay in the community.”
Oz highlighted federal investments in rural health care and training, which include the Rural Health Transformation Program. The program will give $50 billion to the states from 2026 to 2030. Pennsylvania was awarded $193 million this year.
LCCC President John Yudichak discussed a four-year HRSA grant LCCC received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It will provide $507,318 annually until 2029 to allow the college to offer specialized long-term and acute care training for nursing students.
“The investment that the federal government is making in Luzerne County Community College, over half a million dollars a year for four years, over $2 million, that’s going to allow us to hire talented faculty,” Yudichak said.
According to a LCCC press release, two full-time faculty members were hired to develop the specialized long-term and acute care curriculum. Two clinical liaisons, ESL support faculty, and student success faculty were also added. All positions are fully funded by the federal grant.
The grant will also provide up to 100% tuition reimbursement for students who complete the 80 hours of optional specialized training and commit to working in underserved areas. Training launches this spring.
Yudichak said the grant is helping to expand the number of LCCC nursing students. There will be a class of 220 nursing students coming in the fall, the largest class the college has had in recent years.
He hopes this will help address regional nursing shortages.
“This kind of funding helps us close the gap, helps put nurse professionals on the floor of the hospital,” Yudichak said.