UHV School of Nursing joins Texas Medical Center as 53rd member institution
HOUSTON – The Board of Directors of the Texas Medical Center has approved the membership of the University of Houston-Victoria’s School of Nursing, making it the 53rd member institution of the Texas Medical Center.
“We are excited about the prospect of helping add more nurses to the workforce,” said Dr. Richard E. Wainerdi, Texas Medical Center president and CEO. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows one out of every five new jobs created this year will be in health care. Many of these new positions will be filled by RNs, the largest segment of the health care workforce.”
As an institutional member, UHV nursing students now will have expanded resources for their clinicals, and research, service and recruitment opportunities. They also will have access to Texas Medical Center events for networking among fellow students and professionals.
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| Kathryn Tart |
Currently, UHV’s nursing program offers graduate and undergraduate degrees at its main campus in Victoria as well as UH Sugar Land, the UH System at Cinco Ranch in Katy and the Lone Star College University Center at Montgomery in The Woodlands.
“Now our nursing students will have the best health care resources in the nation right at their fingertips,” said Kathryn Tart, founding dean of the UHV School of Nursing. “They will be better prepared to provide quality nursing care to their patients because of the learning opportunities they will have at the Texas Medical Center.”
Renu Khator, chancellor of the UH System and president of UH, made the initial request to Wainerdi in August asking that UHV be admitted to the Texas Medical Center as an institutional member.
“Our nursing school is playing a critical role in developing the health care workforce of the Gulf Coast region,” she wrote. “Its affiliation with the Texas Medical Center strengthens the School of Nursing’s growing reputation for excellence and innovation in health-related research, education, patient care and disease prevention.”
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| Phil Castille |
Since 2007, the UHV School of Nursing has awarded 359 Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees and 31 Master of Science in Nursing degrees.
“In just a few years’ time, UHV’s nursing school has worked diligently to address Texas’ shortage of nurses with advanced degrees by graduating rising numbers of highly educated nurses,” UHV President Phil Castille said. “This agreement with TMC shows the quality of the nursing program at UHV and the school’s commitment to produce not only highly qualified nurses but also leaders in their field.”
UHV also is involved with the Texas Medical Center through the Council of Nurse Executives. Tart is a member of the council, which consists of senior nursing executives of hospitals and deans of nursing schools. Council members collaborate and communicate to stay on top of the latest in research, practice and education for nursing.
“We discuss the topics that nurses are most concerned about,” Tart said. “Then we see how education and practice can support and advance the nursing field for the future.”
For more information about UHV School of Nursing, visit www.uhv.edu/nursing.
| ABOUT THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER: Founded in 1945, Texas Medical Center has grown to become the largest medical complex in the world. It is composed of 54 member institutions in Houston and Galveston. Half of the member institutions are agencies of government: federal, state, county, city and HISD, and the other half are private not-for-profit institutions. The goal of the Texas Medical Center institutions is to improve the health status of people through research, education, patient care and prevention. Texas Medical Center, the corporation, encourages collaboration among member institutions and serves as a “municipal government” of a medical city, enforcing covenants and restrictions. The organization also serves as a moderator of campus-wide issues through 22 councils and is responsible for land management and master planning, management of parking facilities and mobility, maintenance of common areas, security services, leasing, emergency preparedness planning, food operations, and production of the Texas Medical Center News publication. Former First Lady Barbara Bush has recognized the Texas Medical Center as "Houston's gift to the World". For more information, visit www.tmc.edu |
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
