Mississippi University for Women continues to do its part to fight food insecurity.
The Zeta Rho Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing recently raised $2,685 to help support the OWL Food Pantry.
Leigh Anne Puckett, associate professor, Tupelo RN to BSN Nursing, said nearly 100 students participated in the community service project that originally was planned to end Oct. 8, but it was extended to Oct. 19 because there were so many students who wanted to donate.
“The MUW RN to BSN faculty and students, along with Dr. Tammie McCoy, the dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at The W, and Dr. Maria Scott, the chair of the BSN Nursing Department, provided monetary donations and food items to help stock the Owl Pantry in honor of Sigma Founder’s Day, which was Oct. 5,” Puckett said. “As soon as I made the announcement to the students, they immediately began making donations. Their generosity continued throughout the entire campaign.”
Students did their part by providing monetary donations as well as donating food items that were collected in the Tupelo office and delivered to the food pantry.
EMCC reinstating LPN program on Scooba campus
SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College’s Licensed Practical Nursing program is returning to the Scooba campus after a 19-year hiatus.
Classes for the LPN program at Scooba begin Jan. 10. The deadline to apply is Dec. 3. Fifteen students will be accepted into the initial class. Students who successfully complete the one-year course will graduate in December. In the program, students are prepared to practice under the supervision of a registered nurse, a physician or a licensed dentist.
Emerson, who was hired by EMCC in 2001, had been working for the college for about a year when the LPN program on the Scooba campus closed in 2002. A lot has changed since that time.
As early as 2012, medical journals began reporting a growing need for additional nurses to treat an aging baby boomer population with increased medical needs to include, in some cases, around-the clock medical care. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 65,000 additional LPNs will be needed in the U.S. by 2029.
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