Georgia College & State University bolsters rural healthcare with help of grant funding
Georgia College & State University (GCSU) is partnering with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to bring nurse practitioners to underserved communities.
MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – If you live in rural Georgia, it can be hard to access healthcare. That’s why through the help of grant funding, Georgia College & State University (GCSU) is partnering with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to bring nurse practitioners to underserved communities.
For the third time since 2017, Georgia College and State University was awarded the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
According to Professor of Nursing, Dr. Sallie Coke, Georgia College was one of very few schools to receive the grant because 149 counties in Georgia lack access to adequate healthcare.
“The biggest factor is that we’re a rural school.,” she said. “The faculty are used to rural health, that’s all we really know. Medically underserved, the state of Georgia is really in dire straits.”
GCSU will receive $650,000 each year during the next four years, equaling $2.6 million overall. That will make for a total of nearly $7 million in grant money awarded since 2017.
The money will be used to pay full tuition for nursing students with advanced practice concentrations like mental health, women’s health and midwifery.
GCSU is the first university in Georgia to have a nurse-midwifery program. According to Associate Professor of Nursing and Certified Nurse-Midwife, Dr. Monica Ketchie, Georgia ranks 48th in the U.S. for maternal mortality.
“Having a state university program in the state of Georgia for the people of Georgia to have access to nurse-midwives, to give pregnancy care, women’s healthcare throughout the lifespan is, we’re just giving back,” Dr. Ketchie said. “It’s an area of need.”
She says maternal mortality is three times higher in women of color. That’s why the grant will also be used to improve diversity among students to support underserved communities.
According to Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Dr. Will Evans, rural areas with higher minority populations lack access to healthcare resources.
He says enhanced diversity in maternal healthcare will greatly benefit the overall health of underserved communities.
“Whenever you have good maternal care, you start the process off of not only having a healthy mother finish their pregnancy, but you also have a better chance for that child to have a healthier start,” Dr. Evans said.
Scholarship applicants must agree to serve a minimum of two years in an underserved area. Once they graduate, they will have a guaranteed job through the DPH.
The grant will also fill vacancies in the healthcare field caused by COVID-19.
Coke says so far, 115 nurses have graduated with the ANEW scholarship, and 84% of graduates continue to serve rural communities.
