Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs with nursing school students. L to R - Elisabeth Bernabe, Jeannelle Biggs, Samanta Whitley, Lorena Modesto. Photo: Adele Flateau, Kings County Hospital Center.

For Elisabeth Bernabe, getting a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the new Kings County-Long Island University nursing school will mean not only the fulfillment of a personal dream to work as a medical professional, but also the opportunity to help others in her family get an education and career. For HHC, the school is a way to invest in the community and lift many out of poverty and into a profession where they are much-needed.

	Students are being trained on the site of the historic Kings Country Hospital School of Nursing.

“Ever since I was a little girl playing with a stethoscope, I wanted to be a nurse,” said Bernabe, one of nine children. After her family moved from Haiti to New York, Bernabe graduated from high school and was able to get financial aid to attend Long Island University. When she graduates as a Registered Nurse next year, Bernabe plans to help members of her family get ahead, especially a younger sister who is still in high school and an older brother who has been carrying a large part of the family responsibility.

“It's very tough and competitive,” Bernabe said of nursing school. “But it's what I want.”

HHC and LIU launched the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Kings County Hospital Center in 2007. Most seats will be offered to economically disadvantaged students such as Bernabe, supported by scholarships from the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), which was created to develop innovative ways to reduce poverty in New York City.

There are currently 65 students in the clinical training program -- 31 sponsored by CEO. An additional 24 CEO-sponsored students are completing their academic work and will enter LIU-Kings County next year. The first class graduates in spring 2011. In exchange for their scholarships, students recruited by CEO must work for four years at city hospitals, with starting salaries of $65,000.

The federal government says nursing is among the few recession-proof careers in the current economy, with more than one million new and replacement nurses needed in the U.S. by 2016.

“Nurses are the backbone of any hospital or skilled nursing home,” said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. “The training, skills and commitment of the nursing staff make a big difference in the quality of care possible in a healthcare facility and having nurses who reflect the diversity of the patients we serve is especially valuable to a safety net system like HHC.”

“Helping people become nurses is a winning investment for New York City,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs. “Not only does this program provide a significant income boost to people in need, but it also helps the city address an ongoing need for nurses in its public hospitals.”

The new school revives a nursing tradition at Kings County. It is located in the “T” Building, which was home to the old Kings County Hospital School of Nursing from 1897 to 1977.

Nursing professionals say that increasingly, today's RNs are expected to have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Students in the RN program must complete two years of pre-clinical academic work and two years of clinical training in the LIU-Kings County program that includes hands-on practical experience in the new classrooms and laboratories at the Kings County site.

June 2010