School Receives Federal Funding for Service Grants

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded the School of Nursing two grants focused on serving underserved areas of Georgia and the Southeast.

The school received a five-year, $2.6 million grant to provide training in mental health and substance use prevention and treatment to nurses and social workers in primary care clinics and communitybased organizations. Focused on nine primarily rural Georgia counties, the program will also develop partnerships with community-based primary care clinics and organizations that treat substance use disorder and mental illness. Assistant Clinical Professor Shaquita Starks, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC, is the program director of the grant, which involves multiple researchers and statewide partners.

The other HRSA grant will provide scholarships for Emory Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) students to gain clinical experience in diverse and underserved areas in the Southeast. Approximately 60 Emory CRNA students will participate in the program over four years. The program will give students experiential learning opportunities in health equity, culturally competent care, and social determinants of health and expand opportunities for CRNAs to impact underserved areas. Kelly Wiltse Nicely, PhD, CRNA, FAANA, FAAN, and Erica Moore, DNP, CRNA, director and assistant director, respectively, of the Emory CRNA program, are leading the grant.

Cover photo: Shaquita Starks, Kelly Wiltse Nicely, and Erica Moore