Presidents back “Preparing to Care” initiative

lambhubbardmedium

UM System President Gordon Lamb speaks to a group of
Northwest faculty and staff Monday, Dec. 3, in the J.W. Jones
Student Union. Lamb was on campus to join Northwest
President Dean L. Hubbard (right) in expressing supoprt for
"Preparing to Care," an initiative that would boost funding for
higher education programs relating to health care and the
training of health-care professionals.

Dr. Gordon H. Lamb, interim president of the University of Missouri, and Dr. Dean L. Hubbard, president of Northwest Missouri State University, spoke on the Northwest campus Monday afternoon (Dec. 3) during a University Unity Tour event designed to promote a statewide health-care education initiative known as “Preparing to Care.”

This is the second consecutive year the leaders of the UM System and Northwest have made a joint public presentation at Northwest to discuss goals held in common by Missouri’s public colleges and universities. Both presidents expressed their strong support for the collaborative plan, which is designed to increase the number of graduates qualified to meet the state’s growing need for health-care professionals.

“Preparing to Care,” has already garnered support from Missouri’s two- and four-year institutions of higher learning and the state Coordinating Board for Higher Education. It proposes an annual state appropriation of $38 million to help boost the number of graduates with degrees related to the health-care professions.

If funded by the state, “Preparing to Care” would seek to increase the number of graduates in health-related fields by 20 percent, which translates to about 900 additional health-care professionals annually. Estimates break that figure down to approximately 30 physicians, 30 pharmacists, 500 nurses and 300 allied health professionals, such as respiratory and physical therapists.

According to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education, 90 percent of Missouri’s 114 counties are served by an insufficient number of physicians. In addition, a 20 percent nursing shortage statewide is expected by 2015.

Board figures also predict the state will be short 700 pharmacists by 2012 and indicate that 93 percent of Missouri’s counties currently lack an adequate number of dentists and dental hygienists.

Northwest will most likely use any funds it receives through the proposed initiative to establish a program in “health literacy,” a growing field related to prevention and wellness. Hubbard said it is also likely “Preparing to Care” resources would be used to enhance academic opportunities created through a new articulation agreement between Northwest and the nursing program at North Central Missouri College in Trenton.

“Health literacy helps people more fully to understand what their health needs are,” Lamb said. “It means they can better communicate with the health-care professionals who are trying to help them.”

Should “Preparing to Care” win full funding by the Legislature, it would provide $32 million annually for four-year institutions with the remainder going to two-year community colleges. According to the current proposal, none of the money would go for new buildings but rather toward hiring faculty, updating equipment and renovating facilities to accommodate more students.

If the Legislature elects not to fully fund “Preparing to Care,” Lamb said he and other supporters will propose an initial $19.7 million appropriation followed by $18.3 million for “phase two” the following year.

Both Hubbard and Lamb emphasized the need for Missourians to view higher education generally as a means of developing human capital and fueling economic development.

“The very best way to invest in economic development is to invest in our citizens,” said Hubbard, who added that creating more opportunities for citizens to earn college degrees leads to increased wages for educated workers who pay more taxes, start more businesses and play a larger role in civic affairs.

Lamb has already attended University Unity Tour events this year at Missouri State University in Springfield, the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg and Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. Similar presentations are scheduled for Truman State University in Kirksville and on the four University of Missouri campuses, which are located in Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla and St. Louis.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone (660) 562-1704
Fax (660) 562-1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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