[B]ENNINGTON — Southern Vermont College and Southwestern Vermont Health Care are joining to offer tuition debt relief for bachelor of science degree candidates in nursing — along with the promise of a job for those who complete their training.
Officials from the two Bennington-based organizations announced the formal affiliation Tuesday, saying the effort seeks to address a looming nurse shortage in the area, statewide and throughout the nation.
“The average age of SVHC’s registered nurse is 55,” said Thomas Dee, president and CEO of the health system.
Speaking during a news conference at the college’s Everett Mansion, Dee said SVHC expects as many as 40 registered nurse positions will be vacated through retirements in the near future. He said data from a Vermont Business Roundtable study also forecasts that the state will need to replace nearly 3,000 nursing professionals during the same period.
“Our affiliation with Southern Vermont College is a critical step to helping solve our hiring dilemma when we will need to replace retiring nurses,” Dee said. “This partnership will help SVHC continue to build nursing and patient care excellence within our healthcare system.”
Longstanding relationship
David Evans, the president of Southern Vermont College, said the school’s nursing program has long had a relationship with SVHC and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, with nursing executives teaching courses and collaborating on curriculum.
“Affiliating with a Magnet [recognized] hospital and nationally recognized health system like SVHC provides a tremendous opportunity for our students to learn from and shadow some of the country’s best nursing professionals, as well as enhancing the clinical resources and experiential-learning of SVC’s baccalaureate program,” Evans said.
He noted that both organizations also have shared a commitment to regional economic development — such as through the consortium of community entities, businesses and individuals investing in the Putnam Block redevelopment effort in the downtown.
The nursing degree initiative expands “our collaboration and creates powerful synergies to help move our area forward,” Evans said.
Creating a nursing baccalaureate program with a tuition incentive and the promise of employment locally will help attract students to Bennington and retain skilled employees in the care system, thereby strengthening the local economy, Dee said.
Over time, the officials said, there will be efforts to expand the affiliation’s goals to include other degrees offered at SVC, such as psychology. Online learning options likewise are being enhanced to accommodate employed nurses working part-time toward a bachelor of science degree.
Kevin Dailey, vice president of administration and human resources at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, said there will be an outreach component that includes talking with area high school students and their parents about the offer of a tuition-reimbursed, four-year college degree and the prospect of a job upon graduation and completion of nursing certification requirements.
He said a student’s debt will be paid off by SVHC in installments over 10 years, which means the full cost would be reimbursed if the nurse remains employed over that period.
The reimbursement program will be similar to one for current SVHC employees who work toward advance degrees, officials said. In many cases, they said, employed nurses with an associate’s degree work toward a baccalaureate over time.
Leadership team
Individuals from both institutions will serve in joint leadership roles and/or faculty positions.
Mary Botter, currently SVC’s Division of Nursing and Health Services chairwoman, will become SVHC’s new chief nursing officer while retaining her responsibilities with the Division of Nursing and Health Services at the college. Additionally, she will serve on SVHC’s executive management team, helping to oversee daily operations of the health system.
Botter has served as CNO at Fletcher Allen Health Care (now UVM Medical Center). She has worked in numerous nursing executive positions in large healthcare organizations, including at Mercy Hospital in Miami; Albert Einstein Medical Center and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, and has served as the executive director for the Vermont Board of Nursing.
In addition, Shiela Boni will assume the role of associate chief nursing officer at SVHC and associate chairwoman of the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences at the college. She will also serve as an Instructor of Nursing at SVC. Boni has been with SVHC for 14 years and has served in a variety of nurse leadership roles within the health system.
“Mary Botter is a dynamic nursing executive and has worked closely with nurse leaders at SVHC during her tenure at SVC,” said Dee. “She will be a tremendous addition to our health care system and executive management team.”
He added, “Sheila Boni has had a major impact as a nurse leader at SVHC, and in her new role will enhance how our health system continues to provide exceptional, award-winning care for our communities.”
Rare in a rural setting
Dee said there are similar affiliations between larger health care organizations and colleges, such as at the University of Vermont and UVM Medical Center, but such initiatives are rare in less populated areas.
The new affiliation “is one of the first of its kind between a rural health system and small private college,” Dee said.
He said several health systems and universities throughout the U.S. have clinical affiliations with academic medical centers, “but few if any of these partnerships are in communities with a population under 40,000 people involved.”
Other objectives of the affiliation are to increase enrollment at the college while training and educating current and future employees at the health system, and to develop programs that will attract more students seeking careers in nursing and other healthcare disciplines.
Southwestern Vermont Health Care is a four-time Magnet hospital through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. In 2016, SVHC’s Barbara Richardson received worldwide recognition as ANCC’s Magnet Nurse of the Year.; and in 2017, SVHC was awarded ANCC’s Magnet Prize — given to one hospital annually and the highest honor granted to a Magnet organization.
