Sanford’s nursing school in Bismarck will soon be a part of NDSU.
The state Board of Higher Education has approved the plan. NDSU president Dean Breschani says the university earlier announced it would double its nursing enrollment – to help meet a growing need for nurses in North Dakota.
"We have a forming crisis in our state," Breschani told the Board. "NDSU wants to be a part of solving that, as does Sanford Health. This will help meet the need for nurses, especially in western North Dakota. It's a no-brainer that this is in the state's best interest."
Dr. Craig Lambrecht is the president of Sanford Bismarck. He told the board – meeting the need for nurses, especially in western North Dakota, is an enormous challenge.
"We doubled our nursing college size the year before," said Lambrecht. "We hire 1000 nurses a year at Sanford. And we have triple-digit openings right now for nurses. We can't meet the needs."
The Bismarck facility will still have the Sanford name attached to it – but Breschani and Lambrecht says that doesn’t mean that nurses who graduate from that program are obligated to be a part of the Sanford system.
18 faculty and 3 other employees will become state employees July first.