Smart Health for Rural Communities
Minnesota Rural Health Care
Conference
July 18 and 19, 2005
CLEAN Grant:
Career Ladder for the Education and
Advancement of Nursing
Carol Church, RN BSN MS
Itasca Community College
Economic Development and Need

Nursing Shortage presently and in the future
* Areas of Shortage:
Nursing Assistants-5,321 openings-43.4% in Greater MN
LPNs-1,658 openings-40.8% in Greater MN
RNs-2,918 openings-25.3% in Greater MN
(From the Minnesota Job Vacancy Survey of February, 2001):
* Average age of nurses in Minnesota is 45 years old.
* Increasing Geriatric Population: projection of 54% increase in the 65 and
older population across Minnesota within next 10 years
(Minnesota State Planning Agency 2002)
Need for “home grown” Nurses
 Need for accessible Nursing Education

Collaborative Partners
Educational Institutions:
 Rainy River Community College:
Nursing Assistant Courses and Practical Nursing Program
 Itasca Community College:
Nursing Assistant Courses and Practical Nursing Program
 Hibbing Community College:
Nursing Assistant Courses and Registered Nursing Program
Clinical Partners:
Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital, Deer River Health Care Center,
Big Fork Valley, International Falls and Baudette Hospitals
School Districts, Home Care Agencies, Community Detox Centers,
Local Mental Health Agencies, and others…..
Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
HRSA Grant Award
 Awarded in 2003
 3 Year Grant
 $500,000
Major Goals of the Grant
Create an online track of articulation for and delivery of
nursing education:
NA HHA  NAR II  TMA  LPN RN
 Infuse Rural Theory and Concepts into our nursing
curriculums
 Increase the number of LPNs and RNs in our Rural
Communities
 Develop and operationalize a Preceptor Program for
Rural Communities to allow students to stay in their own
communities for their Nursing Clinical experiences

To make online education and
technology happen:
Faculty:
 All Faculty interested in being involved took an online education course
through HCC
 Faculty attended CTL Workshop in St.Cloud related to online education
 Faculty attended on campus D2L workshops
 Faculty were compensated for their development of online courses.
Technical Support:
 Grant paid for ½ time release of faculty person to assist with online course
development
Strategic Plan:
 Followed our Strategic plan, as outlined in the Grant Objectives– related to
recruitment, collaboration, delivery of coursework, etc……
 Held many meetings of the Program Directors
Program Delivery on Line for
2005-2006
Hibbing Community College:
 Will deliver their Theory Courses online to the Second Cohort group of 30 LPN to RN
Students
 Clinical will be conducted in the student’s home communities of International Falls and
Grand Rapids
Itasca Community College:
 Will deliver their Nursing Theory Courses to the First Cohort group of 15 Practical
Nursing Students
 Clinical will be according to an alternate calendar of every other weekend to learn
Skills and gain clinical experience
 20 of the Second Cohort group of HCC’s LPN to RN Students will take proctored
exams at the College and gain clinical experiences in the Grand Rapids Clinical Sites
Rainy River Community College:
 Can offer the TMA online; Share Faculty for online course delivery for ICC
 10 of the Second Cohort group of HCC’s LPN to RN Students will take proctored
exams at the College and gain clinical experiences in the I.Falls Clinical Sites
Creation of a Portal for Online
Resources
 Portal site address:
www.cleanefoliomn.us
Challenges
Changes in Leadership
 Recruitment
 Resources
 Realization of Rural Concepts: Insiders versus
Outsiders and New Comers versus Old Timers
 Time
 Communication
 Sense of Identity for Students: ICC, HCC, RRCC

Strengths
 Passion and Commitment of Program Directors,
and College Administration
 Motivated students to pursue new educational
delivery models
 Engagement of our rural community partners
2005 Successes
Graduated 13 CLEAN Grant Associate Degree Nursing Students
in May from the Grand Rapids Area
____ have passed their State Board Licensure Exam
____ have secured RN Nursing Positions
 Graduated 5 CLEAN Grant Associate Degree Nursing Students
in May from the International Falls Area
____ have passed their State Board Licensure Exam
____ have secured RN Nursing Positions

Ultimately, the intent is to make Nursing Education
accessible for distance learners… to boost local
economy, allow rural communities to “grow their
own” nurses and address nursing shortages.
Questions/Contacts
Carol Church
Itasca Community College Practical Nursing Program
cchurch@itascacc.edu
 Barbara Bozicevich
Hibbing Community College Associate Degree Nursing Program
barbarabozicevich@hcc.mnscu.edu
 Judy Junker
Rainy River Community College Practical Nursing Program
jjunker@rrcc.mnscu.edu
 Karen Skraba
CLEAN Clinical Coordinator
kskraba@itascacc.edu or 218-244-3728
