San Joaquin Delta College sees nursing program enrollment double after $3.8M federal boost

The San Joaquin Delta College nursing program has nearly doubled in size, expanding from 80 enrolled students in 2022 to 150 this semester, according to school leaders.

The bump in enrollment numbers come as nursing students return to a campus with upgraded simulation labs. Students are now able to practice their clinical training on life-like patient manikins that can take in IVs, cough, have heart rates, and even talk.

Delta College Superintendent Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson said the simulation labs help equip students with the skills they'll need to handle various scenarios in hospital settings.

"It's extremely important so we can help our students to understand the types of interactions that they would have with patients, including if there's a visitor in the room, if a patient is hurting in a certain way, or if they have questions," Lawrenson said. "It's a lot different to have somebody who's interacting with you."

The purchase of the patient manikins and renovations to four nursing classrooms in the Locke Building were made possible thanks to $3.8 million in federal funding secured by Congressman Josh Harder last year.

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During a Thursday tour of the renovated classrooms on the central Stockton campus, Amanda Lee, an associate professor in Delta College's health and fitness department, shared the new additions with Harder and school leaders. Lee said many of the upgrades had been completed over the summer.

In some classrooms, chalkboards have been replaced with Smart Boards and carpet was replaced with hardwood flooring. The department also received oxygen and medical air so students can receive training with supplies found in hospitals, and 16 new laptops for testing purposes.

Training and retaining local nurses

Lawrenson said one of the college's goals is to train and retain local nurses through the HOPE Program.

"One of the issues that many of the community college nursing programs face is we train people and then they leave the region for other areas," Lawrenson said.

The HOPE Program, which stands for "Helping Our People Elevate," was developed by a group of local education and healthcare leaders, convened by Dr. Anitra Williams, chief nursing officer at St. Joseph's Medical Center. The program was designed to help meet the local workforce demand and to help remove barriers for high school students and hospital workers pursuing careers in nursing.

A study by the Healthforce Center at the University of California, San Francisco, predicts that while the number of registered nurses in the San Joaquin Valley will decline through 2030, the demand is projected to grow by more than 35%.

It estimates the Valley will experience a shortage of between 6,191 and 9,944 nurses by 2030.

The study suggested that “the primary policy solution for large projected registered nurse shortages in the San Joaquin Valley is to increase the number of graduates from education programs in the region.”

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The HOPE Program offers an incumbent worker track, which allows current employees at local health care facilities to transition into Delta College's nursing program.

It previously offered a high school track, which prepared students at Stockton Unified School District's Health Careers Academy for nursing courses at Delta College. While the high school track isn't currently being offered, school officials are hopeful it'll be brought back soon.

"We've been able to have a high rate of individuals who are staying in the community and working here locally. That's what's super exciting about that program," Lawrenson said. "Additionally, we're training people who represent the population so in terms of demographics, we're able to train local individuals reflecting the population and then serving the population."

The California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office is now looking to Delta College to help other community colleges statewide learn how to expand their nursing programs, according to Lawrenson.

Harder said he believes Delta College's nursing program is "a gem in San Joaquin County."

"It is absolutely imperative, and the fact is, we saw over the last couple years how few nurses and doctors we have in our area," Harder said. "(The) ICU beds were full during COVID, not because we didn't have the bed space, but because we didn't have the nurses to take care of folks."

He added that programs like HOPE are essential to ensure that local residents have the best health care possible.

"It's going to make sure that the nurse that you see at St. Joseph's or San Joaquin General is going to be somebody from Stockton, who was trained in Stockton, who is going to understand what it's like to live here, and that's going to lead to better healthcare," Harder said.

To learn more about applying for admission to Delta College's nursing program, visit bit.ly/3Mkx43w .

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow .

This article originally appeared on The Record: San Joaquin Delta College sees nursing program enrollment double after $3.8M federal boost