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| EDUCATING LEADERS OF FAITH & CHARACTER |
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UST Addresses Nursing Shortage, Begins Process to Reopen Nursing School
 To address the growing shortage of nurses nationwide, University of St. Thomas will begin the process to reopen its School of Nursing.
“We are very fortunate to receive the backing of longtime friends and benefactors Odis and Carol Peavy to begin Phase One on our three-phase project. Their generosity allows us to begin planning, preparation and fundraising,” said President Robert Ivany. “For the next two to three years, we will seek the support of Houstonians, hospitals and foundations who realize the tremendous shortage of nurses and how we can contribute to easing that impact on our community.”
“St. Thomas has the potential to educate nurses with Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees who appreciate the values of our Catholic, Basilian institution,” Ivany said. “We dedicate ourselves to preparing our nurses to become caring leaders of faith and character like all our graduates. Caring for the sick complements our unique mission. Rarely has an institution had the opportunity to meet such pressing local, state and national shortages. As a faith-based institution located only minutes from the Texas Medical Center and other hospitals and clinics, we can provide the highly-educated and inspired nurses who are in such great demand.
The University of St. Thomas graduated 423 nurses from 1972 to 1986 when the School of Nursing fell victim and closed due to plummeting oil prices and the resultant downturn in the local economy.
“We have a marvelous legacy of dedicated St. Thomas nurses who are vigorously supporting our resurgent program,” Ivany said. “We look forward to their support as we rededicate ourselves to their tradition of professionalism and caring. The University will immediately initiate its effort to raise the $20 million needed to construct and endow the School of Nursing.”
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, our nation, the state of Texas and the Houston area face a critical shortage of nurses. National projections suggest that within the next few years these distinct shortages will increase due to the aging nursing workforce (average age of practicing nurses in the U.S. is 47), aging nursing faculty (average age of nursing faculty is 57) and an environment of increasing health care needs with a growing and aging population.
By 2020, Texas will be short 83,600 registered nurses to fill its expanding hospitals. At present capacity, nursing schools in Texas can only meet 59 percent of anticipated demand. There is an even greater shortage of nurses who can carry out their professional responsibilities imbued with Catholic values and principles. Presently, there is only one school of nursing in a Catholic institution of higher learning in Texas.
On June 26, the University of St. Thomas Board of Directors unanimously approved plans to initiate Phase One, consisting of planning and preparation as soon as funding was available. During this phase the school plans to raise $20 million to build and endow the School, hire a director of nursing, prepare for accreditation and begin faculty and student recruitment. During Phase Two, the University plans to secure facilities, hire faculty, and accept undergraduate students for a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Phase Three will include the acceptance of graduate students leading to a Master of Science Degree in Nursing.
UST acquired the nursing program from the Dominican College in 1972. Dominican College and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who owned St. Joseph Hospital, established the program in 1959. Before moving the program to Dominican College the Sisters of Charity, had established the St. Joseph School of Nursing, Houston’s first nursing school in 1905.
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