Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at Daytona State College last week (Sept. 3) to highlight Nursing program achievements made possible through funding provided by the State and community partners.
The State funding is allocated through the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) program, which is designed to mitigate Florida’s nursing shortage. Since 2022, Daytona State College received a total of $4.9 million from the State and the College’s community partners – Halifax Health and AdventHealth.
“We have over three million registered nurses in the State of Florida right now, and yet we still need to produce more,” Gov. DeSantis said at the Tuesday morning press conference. “Since 2022, we’ve invested close to $400 million in nursing education alone. Now, because of these investments, enrollment in Associate of Science and Nursing programs at our state colleges has increased by 25%. Additionally, the number of those completing the course increased by 24%, and I’m pleased to announce – with that type of record – we’re going to be supporting, when we do the budget next year, a full renewal of these programs.”
Daytona State purchased state-of-the-art patient simulators, test preparation software, hired a student success specialist and funded scholarships to cover the cost of taking or re-taking the NCLEX test that graduates must pass to become a licensed Registered Nurse in the U.S.
“Our nursing program has a reputation for delivering the highest quality nursing education in the state – our graduates had a 99.1% and 96.8% pass rate for the NCLEX nursing exam over the past two years – and we look forward to continuing that tradition,” said Dr. Tom LoBasso, President of Daytona State. “I’m proud to say our programs are ranked among the best and most affordable in the United States.”
Gov. DeSantis and the State Legislature have also provided Daytona State with $6.6 million in PIPELINE funding since 2022 to support the hiring and retention of staff and support staff for the Nursing program and to purchase equipment. In addition, the State has provided Critical Nursing and Health Sciences support for the expanded Nursing program on its Flagler/Palm Coast Campus and to build a new classroom building on the Deltona Campus that is home to the Nursing and Diagnostic Medical Sonography programs.
As a result of these efforts, Daytona State has seen a 28% increase in nursing students across its campuses and currently has 750 students enrolled in Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Nurse, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs.
Alexis Marie Shay, a second-year student in Daytona State’s Associate of Science in Nursing Program and three-year employee with Halifax Health, recounted how the programs have supported her current work in women and infant health.
“Thanks to the Education to Employment Scholarship, I’ve been able to pursue my nursing studies without the burden of financial concerns,” Shay said. “Without this opportunity from Halifax and the LINE grant, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish these goals to the best of my ability.”
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