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Leaders at Tidelands Health and HGTC Launch New Nursing Initiative
(left to right) Dr. Jennifer Wilbanks, executive vice president for academic and workforce
development at HGTC; Jeremy Stephens, executive vice president and chief human resources
officer at Tidelands Health; Jo Beck, professor and chair of nursing at HGTC; Dr.
Marilyn Murphy Fore, president at HGTC; Bruce Bailey, president and CEO of Tidelands
Health; Ann Daniels, assistant vice president and dean for the school of nursing at
HGTC; Caitlyn Krask, manager student and volunteer programs at Tidelands Health; Nathan
Mattox, director hospital medicine clinical services center at Tidelands Health
Tidelands Health and Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) are expanding the organizations’ longtime partnership with an innovative strategy to educate and train more registered nurses to meet growing demand.
Through support from the not-for-profit health system, HGTC is expanding its nursing program to a new location on the Tidelands Health campus in Murrells Inlet.
The partnership is allowing more aspiring nurses to enroll in HGTC’s nursing degree program, which had reached capacity at its locations in Myrtle Beach and Georgetown. The new location’s first cohort of up to 24 nursing students starts class today and will officially move into the new Tidelands Health HGTC Education Center on the Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital campus this fall when renovations are complete.
“We are thrilled to announce a significant milestone for Horry-Georgetown Technical College and the communities we serve,” said Dr. Marilyn Murphy Fore, HGTC president. “Starting in the fall of 2024, we will extend our nursing classes to a new location in Murrells Inlet. This expansion reflects our unwavering commitment to providing accessible and high-quality nursing education. It has been made possible through the generous support and longstanding partnership with Tidelands Health, representing an ongoing collaborative effort to meet the growing health care needs of our region.”
The newly established education site coordinated by the region’s largest health system and HGTC provides the opportunity for an additional 24 students to enroll in the two-year nursing program, training more nurses to help meet demand in the fast-growing Grand Strand region. Students may qualify for zero tuition through the SC-WINS program, a workforce initiative that allows students entering fields such as nursing to get their education paid through grants.
“The Tidelands Health HGTC Education Center is a game-changer as we continue to pursue creative strategies for recruiting and training future health care professionals,” said Jeremy Stephens, Tidelands Health executive vice president and chief human resources officer. “Tidelands Health can always count on our partners at Horry-Georgetown Technical College to work with us on innovative ways to meet workforce needs with a focus on the health and well-being of the residents in our region.”
Students in this new cohort will be headquartered on a hospital campus – a first for HGTC’s health care program.
The Tidelands Health HGTC Education Center will be located on the Tidelands Waccamaw campus, where students will complete classroom instruction in an innovative 12,000-square-foot center that will simulate a health care environment with hospital patient beds and exam rooms. Students will also complete clinical rotations inside Tidelands Waccamaw.
“Our clinical team is eager to welcome these students to our Murrells Inlet campus this fall,” said Ashley Capps, vice president of operations and chief nursing officer at Tidelands Health. “This new initiative with Horry-Georgetown Technical College provides a wonderful opportunity for future nurses to learn in a real-world environment and get a true sense of what it’s like to be a dedicated nurse providing high-quality, compassionate care. Our Tidelands Health nurses embrace this opportunity to share our passion and expertise in caring for others with these new nursing students.”
As part of its McRoy and Jo Skipper Initiative for Learning and Teaching, Tidelands Health is donating infrastructure and equipment for the simulation center and providing adjunct faculty for the nursing program, which is part of the health system’s comprehensive strategy to invest in the next generation of health care professionals to serve the region.
Tidelands Health and HGTC have collaborated on health care education and training initiatives for decades. In 2004, the health system donated $1 million to support the construction of the health care education wing on HGTC’s Georgetown campus.
“As we prepare to welcome students to the new site this fall, I invite everyone to join us in celebrating this achievement and sharing this exciting news,” Dr. Fore said. “Together, we are not only educating the next generation of nurses but also strengthening the health and well-being of the communities we serve.”