Riverside Community Hospital and Riverside City College announce nursing expansion program

Riverside Community Hospital (RCH) and Riverside City College (RCC) announced today a partnership to increase RCH employee access to nursing degrees and nursing assistant certificates through a Department of Labor (DOL) Nursing Expansion Grant. Eligible students must be employed at RCH, in any capacity, for at least six months and are enrolled in one of the approved School of Nursing career pathways (C.N.A., LVN, RN) or applying to one of the pathways at RCC with all pre-requisites complete. Students accepted to participate in the DOL Grant will receive priority placement in the program for which they have applied.

“This gives our colleagues a jumpstart to pursue higher education and their career goals,” said Annette Greenwood, chief nursing officer at RCH. “So many of our team members join us with aspirations to grow their careers into C.N.A.s or RNs. This partnership with RCC opens more doors for colleagues at RCH and grants them closer access to a highly sought-after program.” 

The School of Nursing at RCC was awarded a 2.6-million-dollar Department of Labor H-1B Nursing Expansion Grant to train incumbent workers as frontline healthcare professionals so they can advance along a career pathway and attain postsecondary credentials needed for middle- to high-skilled nursing occupations. The 5-year grant will provide funding for over 200 employees at partnering healthcare agencies, including RCH, across the Riverside and San Bernardino areas.

“Riverside City College School of Nursing is excited to partner with Riverside Community Hospital to expand the nursing workforce in the Inland Empire,” said Tammy Vant Hul, dean, school of nursing at RCC. “Our goal is to produce well-prepared nurses who stay employed with their sponsoring agency, which is anticipated to alleviate turnover in the workforce and positively contribute to the health and well-being of the community.”

This grant program places an emphasis on training individuals from historically marginalized and underrepresented populations to address the growing health equity gap in under-served communities and lack of diversity in the healthcare workforce, particularly within the middle-to-high-skilled nursing professions.