Jacksonville University, along with 26 other Florida colleges and universities, received funding for its nursing programs as part of a competitive grant funding program called Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE).
JU received a $350,000 grant, which will go toward funding nursing scholarships, and supports efforts to expand the enrollment of nursing students in the Keigwin School of Nursing, particularly the highly-demanded 12-month and 16-month Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs.
Nursing programs who partner with an approved healthcare provider, were among those eligible for funding. In JU’s case, those providers are Baptist Health and Brooks Rehabilitation. The LINE funding was created by Senate Bill 2524. It provides $19 million to match funds, on a dollar-to-dollar basis, with participating institutions that partner with a hospital and/or healthcare provider in its recruitment efforts.
Baptist Health and Brooks Rehabilitation provided funding for JU’s 12-month and 16-month ABSN programs. Baptist Health is the clinical partner in the inaugural 12-month ABSN program, helping to develop and launch the program that saw its first cohort graduate in August.
“Baptist Health is proud to work with Jacksonville University to develop a pipeline of future nurses that have excellent classroom education combined with real-world clinical experience,” said Michael A. Mayo, DHA, FACHE, President and CEO at Baptist Health. “The graduates from JU’s programs make a significant difference in the health of our community and additional funding helps advance this impact.”
The LINE fund is for Florida College System institutions, school district postsecondary technical centers, charter technical centers and independent nonprofit colleges or universities in Florida. To be eligible for funding, institutions were required to have a first-time NCLEX pass rate of 70% or more in its Bachelor of Science in nursing programs. JU’s Keigwin School of Nursing boasted a 96.6% pass rate through the third quarter of 2022, one of the highest pass rates in the state.
