Meadville Medical Center announced today the intent to establish a new school of Nursing with the goal of preserving nursing education in the region with the pending closure of The Sharon Regional Medical Center’s School of Nursing.
The Sharon School of Nursing has been preparing students to practice as Registered Nurses (RN) since 1899. The 20-month program graduates 25 students on average and operated as one of the region’s premier schools for RNs.
“Our school of nursing program has been incredibly successful graduating thousands of students over the years to become Registered Nurses. Not only has our community benefited from the school’s graduates, but so has the entire region. While it saddens me that after 125 years we must close the school, I am excited to lead the charge to establish a new program along with Meadville Medical Center,” stated Crystal Brest, MSN, RN Sharon Regional School of Nursing Director.
MMC still must go through a lengthy and comprehensive process to attain licensure by the State Board of Nursing prior to promoting the new school or accepting students.
“Our interest in establishing a School of Nursing is to help current and future students as well preserve a pipeline for local healthcare agencies to have options for new Registered Nurses. There is still much work to be done but we are looking forward to whenever we can enroll our first students,” stated Valerie Waid, Chief Nurse Executive at Meadville Medical Center.
Once licensed, the School of Nursing at Meadville Medical Center will join the recently licensed Practical Nursing program at Meadville Medical Center under the newly created Institute for Healthcare Professionals.
