Nursing Schools Nationwide Are Mobilized to Accommodate
Students and Faculty Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
CCNE Accrediting
Body Issues Statement in Support of Relief Efforts
WASHINGTON, DC, September 9, 2005 –
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)
applauds the efforts of nursing schools nationwide to
accommodate the 3,000 nursing students and faculty displaced
by Hurricane Katrina. More than 100 schools representing
35 states and the District of Columbia have made arrangements
to accept students on an expedited basis, provide housing
when possible, and offer nurse faculty opportunities to
teach while their home institutions in New Orleans and
the surrounding area remain closed. The listing of nursing
schools providing assistance to students and faculty is
available online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/HurricaneRelief.htm.
“In light of the nursing shortage,
it is extremely important to the nation’s health
that the pipeline of new nurse graduates remains strong
and is not compromised in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,”
said AACN President Dr. Jean E. Bartels. “Nursing
schools from coast to coast are stepping forward to provide
needed assistance to enable students to continue their
education and create opportunities for faculty to teach.”
Among the nursing schools hardest hit by
Hurricane Katrina were Dillard University, Louisiana State
University Health Sciences Center, Loyola University of
New Orleans, and Our Lady of Holy Cross College. Students
enrolled in nursing programs at these and other affected
institutions this fall are encouraged to use the hurricane
relief directory found at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/HurricaneRelief.htm
to locate schools able to accept transfers. Some schools
will accept individuals while others are looking to accommodate
whole classes with faculty. Some schools are waiving tuition
fees while others are securing important support services.
In terms of housing, some students and faculty are opening
their homes to displaced individuals when university housing
is not an option.
In support of these efforts, the Commission
on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the leading accrediting
agency for baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs,
released the following statement from Dr. Mary Margaret
Mooney, Chair of the CCNE Board of Commissioners: “CCNE
encourages its constituent nursing programs to provide
opportunities for continued study to nursing students
from Katrina ravaged areas. Nursing faculty are remarkably
innovative, and we are confident that schools which can
do so will accommodate these displaced students without
compromising accreditation standards.”
AACN is grateful to all of the kindred organizations
who have helped to spread the word about nursing education’s
hurricane relief effort, including the American Nurses
Association, Association of Academic Health Centers, National
Council of State Boards of Nursing, National Student Nurses
Association, and the Veterans Health Administration. To
expand this effort to reach students and faculty, AACN
encourages other nursing groups to link with http://www.aacn.nche.edu/HurricaneRelief.htm.
The American Association of Colleges
of Nursing is the national voice for university and four-year-college
education programs in nursing. Representing more than
585 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions
nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental
advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs
work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and
graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors
to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession
to improve health care, and promote public support of
baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research,
and practice. Web site: http://www.aacn.nche.edu.
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