By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Implementing the vision behind the recent affiliation initiative between Fort Hays State University, North Central Kansas Technical College in Hays and Beloit, and Northwest Kansas Technical College in Goodland is underway.
The nursing and allied health professionals teams at FHSU and what is now known as Fort Hays Tech North Central are leading the way in forming an affiliation partnership that will better serve rural Kansas's educational and workforce development needs.
One affiliation implementation team is addressing the nursing shortage and other challenges in health care, including opportunities for students to get credentialed in health care areas.
"We've worked very closely with Fort Hays Tech North Central, which has a very vibrant nursing program on its Hays campus and an emerging program at its Beloit campus," said Jeff Briggs, dean of the FHSU College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.
The schools' partnership is designed to make a student's transfer to FHSU seamless and enhance the pipeline of persons that will serve rural and remote communities, particularly in western and central Kansas.
"We're really concerned about the demographic decline and how that will devastate some of these communities," said Tisa Mason, FHSU president. "To be a strong state, we can't just focus on the urban areas."
Students interested in nursing can get an associate's degree at the technical college and then follow several seamless transfer pathways to a bachelor of science in nursing degree at FHSU.
"We've been able to create a host of courses that transfer directly, and we've opened up a number of courses students can take while they're pursuing their two-year degree. At the same time, they can take up to five courses in the baccalaureate program," Briggs said.
"It fast tracks these students to the BSN through this partnership. It prepares nurses much faster than what has been our historical pattern."
This academic year, the affiliation implementation will be creating a pathway for seamless admission to Fort Hays State from Fort Hays Tech North Central.
FHSU will also launch a hybrid program this year.
Students will be able to take lecture courses online and have clinical-intensive experiences throughout the semester, then sit for the registered nurse licensure.
Briggs credits the FHSU nursing faculty for developing the creative program concept.
"We know that students tend to stay within the parameters of where they're educated. If we can keep them in western Kansas for educational opportunities, it's often that they'll go back to populate and serve the rural region."
Allied health professionals are also needed in rural areas of Kansas.
Fort Hays Tech Northwest in Goodland offers respiratory care and medical assistant programs, and it is developing a medical specialist program.
"We're partnering with them as part of this affiliation so those students can then receive a baccalaureate degree through Fort Hays State University, advance their credentials. Perhaps pathway into a master's degree, move into administration."
Industry partners are critical for all FHSU allied health programs, and several professionals serve on the implementation team, including Terry Siek, chief nursing officer at HaysMed, Nicki Cleveland, chief nursing officer at Mitchell County Hospital in Beloit, and Jaron Caffrey of the Kansas Hospital Association.
"Independently, we work so closely with all our regional hospitals, our critical care access hospitals, and clinics for placing our students for clinical experiences. Then there are opportunities for them to recruit those students into employment upon completion of the program."
Briggs said the hands-on clinical experience is critically important for the original nursing certification.
FHSU and its partner schools have patient simulation labs on their campuses, where students can learn and practice techniques before entering the more organic real-life environment.
"They've had to think through the scenarios that they're presented. They're more work-ready when they do graduate," Briggs said.
FHSU students do a rural clinical rotation, which is a vastly different environment from an urban hospital such as Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
The university has submitted an application for a competitive $4 million federal grant to support the rural clinical rotation program.
Thanks in part to $15 million in funding from the Kansas Legislature, Fort Hays State University is expanding its nursing program and adding to Stroup Hall, the nursing building.
Design plans are underway with a goal of opening the doors in 2027.
Community promotional events to celebrate the affiliation between FHSU and Fort Hays Tech North Central will be at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Hays downtown pavilion and Sept. 14 in downtown Beloit.