Fresno State gets $350,000 nursing grant

The School of Nursing at Fresno State has been awarded nearly $350,000 to to increase the number of advanced education nurses in the central San Joaquin Valley

The Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Program grant will allow nurses to be trained to practice as primary care providers and to become nursing faculty.

“All the money goes toward helping deserving students in good standing who commit to work with the underserved in our Valley,” said Pilar De La Cruz-Reyes, director of the Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing at Fresno State. “This money helps to cover a significant portion of their tuition and expenses for the year.”

This is the fifth consecutive year Fresno State has received funds from the program, totaling over $1.3 million since 2012.

“We have a shortage of physicians in the Valley to care for all of the patients in need, so having enough qualified nurse practitioners is very important, and having enough faculty who can teach the nurse practitioners is also extremely important,” De La Cruz-Reyes said. “This grant helps to make this possible.”

About 30 nurse practitioner students graduate from Fresno State annually, and many stay to serve the Central Valley in pediatrics and family medicine.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Fresno State gets $350,000 nursing grant."