A Bangor community college is working to fill a nursing gap in some of the most rural counties in the state with the launch of a nursing program in Dover-Foxcroft.
Piscataquis County, like many places in Maine, is facing a critical shortage of qualified nurses.
“This is just the first of hopefully many thinking-outside-the-box programs that we’re going to unroll,” says Jennifer Khavari, director of advancement at Eastern Maine Community College.
Khavari says many students are unable to travel long distances to attend school, but can travel to education centers closer to home. So the classes will be distance-delivered to the Penquis Higher Education Center in Dover-Foxcroft, and students will get their clinical experience at the local hospital, Mayo Regional.
“If we can bring it to them‚ they don’t have to drive and hour and a half to us everyday, and they’ll be doing their training in the places of potential future employment,” Khavari says. “Everybody wins.”
The pilot class will be limited to about 8-10 students who start this fall and graduate in 2019.
The college is planning two informational sessions on Monday, July 17, in Dover-Foxcroft for students interested in the program.
