Generous donors help build the Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe & the CARE Pathway

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, two members of the Loyola Nursing leadership team, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Lee Schmidt, PhD, RN, and Assistant Dean for the BSN Program Jorgia Connor, PhD, RN, had an idea to create a pipeline to increase diversity in the nursing workforce. They partnered with Arrupe College, Loyola University Chicago’s two-year college that offers rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse population of first-generation students and students of color, to launch the Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Students complete year one of their studies through Arrupe College. Beginning in year two, students complete Arrupe College coursework concurrently with first-year courses of the BSN program. After earning their associate of arts degree, students complete the remaining three years of the BSN program, leading to earning a BSN degree and eligibility for the nursing licensure exam. The first group of students began the Pathway to the BSN in the Fall 2020 semester.

“Our Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe College is one of the foundational elements of Loyola Nursing’s Inclusive Excellence initiative to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion in the School of Nursing and the nursing workforce. It also is an inspiration to some very generous donors who have invested in it,” says Dean Lorna Finnegan, PhD, RN, FNP, FAAN, Loyola Nursing.

KAREN AND BOB DESJARDINS

When Karen and Bob Desjardins heard about Arrupe’s transformational work with students from underrepresented backgrounds, it sparked their interest. As they learned more, the spark lit a flame that would blaze a new path for their family’s giving—and for the students’ lives they would change.

Bob (MD ’71, MRES ’74) says they were amazed by the “really spectacularly successful” results at Arrupe College, which pairs a rigorous, affordable Jesuit education with intensive, wrap-around support services. Arrupe students have a two-year graduation rate that is more than three times the national average for community college students. More than 70 percent of Arrupe students who pursue a baccalaureate degree graduate within six years, far above the national average for underrepresented transfer students.

PEGGY AND TOM BELL

Peggy Bell’s deep appreciation for cura personalis — care for the whole person — is why she and her husband Tom enthusiastically support Loyola Nursing. “To me, Peggy’s education at Loyola represented a transformation that was life-changing,” says Tom. “I watched from the sidelines as Loyola shaped her.”

In spring 2020, Peggy and Tom created a generous endowment that will fund scholarships for students in the Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe College. “Through these scholarships, we can provide opportunities for more students to attend Loyola, specifically students from diverse backgrounds,” says Peggy.

THE IMBURGIA FAMILY

A love of nursing has been woven into the fabric of Patrick and Lori Imburgia’s family for three generations. It started when Patrick’s mother graduated from Loyola–Oak Park’s nursing program, a predecessor of Loyola University Chicago’s Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. Next, Patrick’s two sisters and two nieces pursued a nursing career. Then the couple’s two daughters donned nursing scrubs, too. Their oldest daughter, Rachael, graduated from Loyola Nursing with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in fall 2017, nearly seven decades after her grandmother earned her nursing degree.

It seemed only natural that the Imburgia family would establish a scholarship fund to support aspiring nurses. “We know how important education is,” says Patrick, a retired flavor chemist who built Mission Flavors & Fragrances. “You invest in stocks, bonds, and real estate. I’m never afraid to invest in my kids’ education.”

SISTERS OF THE RESURRECTION

“Loyola has had an impact on me all my life,” says Sister Donna Marie Wolowicki, C.R. (BSN ’71, MSN ’75). “What I really appreciated was the integration of the whole person in our nursing studies.”

Sister Donna began her career as an intensive care nurse at Chicago’s Resurrection Medical Center where she continued to advance in leadership roles until she became executive vice president/CEO. When she moved to a new leadership position as president of Resurrection College Prep High School, she worked with Vicki Keough, then dean of Loyola Nursing, to bring Loyola faculty to the school to teach students about potential career opportunities.

Those interactions prompted Sister Donna to approach the Sisters of the Resurrection about supporting a Loyola Nursing scholarship, particularly given Loyola’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. When the Sisters learned of the Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe College, they pledged two endowed scholarships: one for an Arrupe student and one for a Resurrection College Prep High School graduate.

The CARE Pathway to the BSN will improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the nursing workforce

SUPPORTED BY A $2.2 MILLION, four-year Nursing Workforce Development grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and a one-year, $170,000 grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Loyola Nursing launched its CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the BSN program in July. The CARE Pathway to the BSN supports Black and Latinx student and faculty recruitment and development of a student success center that will provide customized academic (and career) strategies based on social determinants and other structural factors.

BUILDING A BETTER, MORE DIVERSE NURSING WORKFORCE

In May 2021, the National Academy of Medicine released The Future of Nursing 2020 – 2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. As the largest health care profession in the United States, nurses can use their collective power to help achieve health equity throughout the country.

To that end, the nursing workforce must reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the communities it serves. In Illinois, 15 percent of the population is Black, yet only 9 percent of the Illinois nursing workforce is Black, according to 2020 U.S. Census and Illinois Nursing Workforce Survey data. Similarly, Latinx nurses compose only 9 percent of the state’s nursing workforce, although 18 percent of the population is Latinx. A review by the HRSA found that patients of diverse backgrounds had better outcomes with registered nurses of their own race or ethnicity. With CARE funding, Loyola Nursing will strengthen its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and increase Black and Latinx students’ access to a quality nursing education and career.

“Creating a more diverse nursing workforce that reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of communities served is a tangible and essential step toward achieving the far-reaching goal of reducing health disparities and inequities,” says Executive Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Grant Evaluation Director Lee Schmidt, PhD, RN.

WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE PATHWAYS

With this funding, Loyola Nursing will expand its Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe College through the new CARE Pathway to the BSN. This pathway model includes multiple, evidence-based strategies including individually tailored academic and professional integration programming and support services; recruitment and retention of Black and Latinx faculty; alumni, peer, and professional mentoring and coaching; application support and holistic admissions; and financial support for Black and Latinx students. A resiliency and well-being program will help students build capacity to respond well when faced with difficult and stressful situations during and beyond their nursing education.

While grant funding is essential to create the program’s infrastructure and develop the capacity for continued program leadership, Loyola Nursing is committed to sustaining the program after this government funding ends.

“Our CARE Pathway to the BSN program is one of the foundational elements of Loyola Nursing’s Inclusive Excellence initiative to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion in the school,” says Dean Lorna Finnegan, PhD, RN, FNP, FAAN.