Jeff Tech’s practical nursing program receives CARES grant

Jeff Tech is the recipient of a $450,000 grant for the practical nursing program

School Director Dr. Barry Fillman said the grant is part of the The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) program.

The money will help Jeff Tech provide different ways of delivering the practical nursing program with more online work and even simulated patients. The pandemic has limited the program’s ability to use actual patients in training.

Fillman said the goal is to provide “more than one way to take the program” than the current in-person, daily training, giving adult learners more flexibility. He praised the hard work of Sherry Hasselman and Practical Nursing Program Director Cara Davenport in obtaining the grant.

“This is a big win for the Jeff Tech practical nursing program,” Fillman said.

The plan is to start multi-modal program delivery in the fall, but the current students should be able to use the simulated patient part of the training as soon as it’s available.