Nashville State, with VUMC CPiAH support, Awarded a $50,000 Healthcare Grant

Nashville State Community College has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Tennessee Hospital Association to fund the hiring of a new Central Sterile Processing Instructor.

This position was designed to support both credit (degree-seeking through the college) and non-credit (through the college’s Center for Workforce Development and Continuing Education) sterile processing education.

The funding comes through the Tennessee Hospital Association's Healthcare Collaborative program, which focuses on strengthening the healthcare workforce pipeline and providing high-level support for clinical teaching.

“Nashville State is at the local forefront of preparing students to meet the critical healthcare needs of our growing regions,” Nashville State’s Center for Workforce Development and Continuing Education’s Director of Healthcare Partnerships John Cunningham said.

“This grant allows us to continue to expand our work in providing hands-on education in a vital and important field.”

The Central Sterile Processing program in the School of Health Sciences at Nashville State provides training for the often-unsung healthcare workers who keep hospital operations safe and efficient.

Sterile processing technicians ensure that surgical instruments throughout operating rooms are functional, sterile, and safe, ensuring successful outcomes for surgical patients.

Through this grant, the college will have more tools to continue addressing a critical workforce shortage in Tennessee’s healthcare industry.

In doing so, it has been working with Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) Center for Programs in Allied Health (CPiAH). Specifically, the partnership directly provides incumbent VUMC employees an opportunity to upskill in the medical industry, with Nashville State providing the training.

Dr. Peggy Valentine, vice president for Allied Health Education at VUMC, strongly supported Nashville State's funding request.

“We are fully committed to supporting Nashville State in implementing this initiative. This opportunity will further enhance our collaborative relationship while meeting a crucial need for faculty to provide quality education in sterile processing. Approval of this proposal will support our urgent need for these skilled health professionals.”

With this grant funding, Nashville State continues its mission of training home-taught talent and providing the region's healthcare employers with a local, well-trained, and dedicated staff focused on the well-being of Middle Tennessee.