PERU, Ind.— The Dukes Health Care Foundation of Miami County announced that Ivy Tech Community College has been awarded a $407,344 grant to fund two full-time nursing faculty positions needed to expand the Region’s nursing program to Peru beginning fall 2013.
The Indiana State Board of Nursing approved the expansion of the college’s Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) to the Peru campus in December. The expansion is in response to the needs of Dukes Memorial Hospital, located in Peru, and the community.
By making the program available at the Peru site, the college will increase access to a nursing degree for students throughout the region.
The grant will be distributed over a three-year period with Ivy Tech Community College providing support staff, office space and supplies, utilities, and facilities.
Over the past five years, Dukes Health Care Foundation has contributed to establishing health sciences at the Peru campus. The grants have funded nursing and science laboratories, audio visual supplies and equipment for nursing instruction, and two new patient-care simulators. These simulators provide simulation-based education to challenge and test students’ clinical and decision-making skills during realistic patient care. The simulators include software and interactive, technologically-advanced manikins allowing students to practice the emergency treatment of patients as well as a variety of other patient care scenarios.
“Miami County and Ivy Tech Community College have collaborated very successfully to get Ivy Tech Peru from an idea to a functioning community college site in a very short period of time. We are extremely grateful for the generous donation. We all are aware of the need to provide training for high-growth, high-demand occupations and those that will provide a living wage as well as opportunities to continue the career ladder toward a better quality of life. This expansion of our nursing program in Peru, Indiana will do just that and the cost to attend, compared with the long-term benefit, is very reasonable,” said Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Region Chancellor Steve Daily.
The Dukes Health Care Foundation of Miami County Inc. exists to support efforts to improve the health standards of the residents of Miami County. It encourages a healthy lifestyle through educational opportunities by assisting in the creation of or by supporting health programs that benefit the Miami County populace.
IVY TECH KOKOMO SERVICE AREA NEWS 