The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation (Louisiana Blue Foundation) has awarded the Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) Foundation a Collective Impact Grant to support its initiative, Conquering the Nursing Shortage. This funding will enhance BRCC’s Nursing and Allied Health (NAH) programs by expanding student enrollment, increasing faculty capacity, and addressing Louisiana’s critical healthcare workforce gaps.
"We are pleased that the Louisiana Blue Foundation is working alongside BRCC to address the nursing shortage. BRCC and Louisiana Blue are aligned in our missions, creating the perfect opportunity for us to work together to advance our community and improve healthcare in Louisiana."
"We’re proud to support BRCC as they expand access to healthcare training in Louisiana. This effort will help close critical healthcare workforce gaps, create career pathways for more students, and ensure more communities have access to the care they deserve."
With this grant, BRCC will:
- Expand faculty capacity by hiring two full-time faculty members - a Director of Simulation and Experiential Learning and a Nursing Academic Success Specialist - to support student learning, retention, and success.
- Increase student enrollment and completions by growing annual graduates from 200 to 500 and ensuring that 85% of them secure healthcare positions within six months.
- Strengthen workforce readiness by enhancing hands-on training and student support to improve competency, graduation rates, and job placement outcomes in critical healthcare fields.
Through this expansion, BRCC will contribute to Louisiana’s healthcare workforce by training over 2,200 healthcare professionals over the next three years. This initiative aligns with the Louisiana Blue Foundation’s mission to improve health equity by addressing access to education, economic stability, and workforce development in the healthcare sector.
