SAN ANTONIO, Texas – September 30, 2008 – Galen College of Nursing – formerly known as Galen Health Institute School of Nursing – announced today it has launched an associate degree program for licensed vocational nurses who want to become registered nurses. The program launch includes facility expansion and the hiring of a new dean.
“This comes at a time when the state of Texas faces a critical shortage of RNs,” said Dean Regina C. Aune, PhD, RN, CLNC, FAAN. “This will enable Galen to contribute to the number of qualified registered nurses in the San Antonio healthcare workforce, in addition to the licensed vocational nurses we have educated since 1990.”
According to the 2006 Texas Nursing Staffing Survey, compiled by the Texas Nursing Workforce Data Section of the Texas Department of Health, the overall average nurse vacancy rate in Texas hospitals was 10.2 percent, an increase from 8.6 percent from its 2004 survey. The Texas Hospital Association, meanwhile, says the average hospital vacancy rate for registered nurses is near 11 percent, while specialty areas face even higher rates. The National Association of Health Care Recruiters considers a vacancy rate of 8.0 percent to be a “crisis point.”
Galen received program approval from the Texas Board of Nursing and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board earlier this year. To facilitate the expected growth in enrollment, Galen also has made a multi-million dollar investment in a new campus facility. After an extensive geographic search, Galen selected a location in the One Technology Center, which puts the college in the heart of the South Texas Medical Campus in San Antonio. The new facility is approximately 24,000 square feet, and the transition is slated for completion by early 2009. Galen also recently appointed Aune to lead the school. Dr. Aune has a PhD in Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah College of Education and spent 28 years in the United States Air Force serving as an educator, researcher, flight nurse administrator, and commander. Aune retired as a Colonel in 2006. She is also a certified legal nurse consultant and currently holds an Adjunct Associate Professor of Nursing appointment in the Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
The new program expansion also brings with it a name change for Galen; per the approval from the board of nursing, Galen qualifies as a college under Texas guidelines and has changed its name to reflect this status.
About Galen College of Nursing
Founded over 20 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest private nursing schools in the United States. With a focus solely on nursing education, the College offers practical/vocational nurse (PN/VN) and associate degree nursing programs to students on its campuses in Louisville, Ky., San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Fla., and Cincinnati, Ohio. Galen is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. For more information about Galen College of Nursing, visit our website.
