LOCK HAVEN – Before the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, 2020 was designated the International Year of the Nurse by the World Health Assembly in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. Its objective, “to advance nurses’ vital role in transforming health care around the world.”
Over the last 30 years, Lock Haven University’s Clearfield campus has prepared more than 1,000 nurses. Although these nurses have been transforming health care across the country, many LHU nursing graduates choose to remain in Pennsylvania to serve their local communities.
Heroically, these LHU-educated health care providers — and countless numbers of their peers — are on the front lines right now battling COVID-19, working long and stress-laden shifts, while risking their own health to take care of others.
There are more than 200 LHU nursing students currently working on attaining their degrees and licensures, eager to join their fellow nurses on the frontlines and beyond.
As committed as these students are to joining the fight, the economic fallout from COVID makes it difficult for many of these students to continue the pursuit of their degree.
In an effort to help these students achieve their professional goals and stay enrolled, while also helping the area meet its demand for skilled RNs at local health care institutions, LHU and LHU Clearfield have announced a campaign to generate scholarship money for the LHU nursing students who are in dire need of additional support.
“The demand for skilled nursing graduates is at an all-time high, but LHU nursing students and faculty are up for the challenge,” said Darlene Ardary, interim director of LHU’s School of Nursing.
“Yet, unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic on the economy has left many nursing students struggling financially. Students, now more than ever, need the help of the community to help realize their dreams, as well as to fill the countless unfilled nursing positions in the region, state and nationally.”
In 2019, the School of Nursing at Lock Haven University expanded its program offering to students at LHU’s main campus. Not only to make attaining a nursing degree more accessible to students in the Lock Haven area, but also to help meet the demand for highly-skilled nurses in the Clinton, Lycoming, Montour and Centre counties — the same way the Clearfield campus has been a pipeline for meeting the nursing demand in its surrounding region for the last three decades.
“As a nurse, myself, I understand the challenges that LHU nursing alumni and all nurses are currently facing, and as an educator, I know all too well the challenges our students are dealing with on their quest to be part of the solution,” Ardary said.
“That’s why we are asking our alumni, our communities and anyone passionate about health care and nursing to please consider supporting this scholarship campaign.”
“Working together and supporting one another is win-win for all,” she added.
Tax-deductible donations can be made at givegab.com/campaigns/lhu-nursing. There also is an option to donate in honor or in memory of a nurse, loved one or friend when making a gift on that page.
Checks can be mailed to Lock Haven University Foundation 401 N. Fairview St., Lock Haven, PA, 1774. Include “LHU Nursing Scholarship (4610)” in the memo field.
For more information on Lock Haven University, visit www.lockhaven.edu, e-mail admissions@lockhaven.edu, or call 570-484-2011.
Lock Haven University (LHU) is a small, public university located on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in the scenic mountains of Pennsylvania.
LHU’s experience-based approach to learning prepares students for a lifetime of success. The university features outstanding academic programs taught by experienced faculty.
Since 1870, The Haven has provided an unbeatable combination of quality, affordability and value to the region, the Commonwealth and beyond.
LHU is a member of Pennsylvania’s State System, the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth.