Editor's note: Senate Bill 2118 was signed into law June 12 by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The passage of state Senate Bill 2118 this legislative session will allow Texas community colleges like Lone Star College-Montgomery to offer four-year Bachelor of Science in nursing programs.
Having a four-year BSN program at LSC-Montgomery would open up opportunities for hospitals like Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital to hire more nurses directly from the community, said Catherine Giegerich, vice president and chief nursing officer at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital.
“Currently, our vacancy rate is quite low, which is a great thing,” Giegerich said. “But, in nursing you find that can be very fleeting, particularly with the new hospitals coming to Montgomery County. Competition for qualified nursing staff gets a lot more difficult.”
An integral part of SB 2118 ensures that students who begin college at a community college and complete their coursework on time without changing majors can obtain a four-year BSN degree at a community college price, LSC-Montgomery President Rebecca Riley said. This would be just under $10,000 at LSC-Montgomery, Riley said.
The baccalaureate nursing program at LSC-Montgomery would begin in January 2018 with a cohort of 30 students, and the college will look into hiring additional personnel soon should the bill be signed into law, Riley said.
Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital is working to maintain its Magnet status, which is recognition granted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. It requires nursing staffs to be 80 percent baccalaureate-prepared by 2020, Giegerich said.
“While I wouldn’t say that we only hire baccalaureate-prepared nurses, they are definitely given preference,” Giegerich said.
Today, 71 percent of nurses at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital hold a baccalaureate, master’s or doctorate degree in nursing, Giegerich said.
“We have always strongly supported the community college by hiring their graduates,” she said. “However, when we reached the point where we [received Magnet status], we had to hire more baccalaureate-prepared nurses, [and] that support became a little softer.”
Should the legislation be signed into law, LSCS would only implement the four-year nursing program at LSC-Montgomery initially, Riley said. However, the program could extend to other systemwide campuses, depending on demand.
Although specific details for the program have yet to be decided, it will be a continuation from the associate or registered nurse program already in place at the community college, Riley said.
“This program will be geared toward students who have an associate’s degree and their RN already, and most are probably already working,” Riley said.
Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital officials said SB 2118 will benefit the local community.
“The Senate bill will give us the opportunity to support our community at an even higher degree than we’ve been able to do in the last year and a half,” Giegerich said. “We’re very aware that Texas Children’s and The Woodlands Methodist most likely will be seeking Magnet status as well. This opens the pool.”
