Social & Cultural Barriers to Access

Future Nurses:

Growing Our Own Health Care Professionals, Reflecting the New NH Demographics

The Endowment for Health is collaborating with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation to diversify the nursing workforce in the Granite State

As part of the Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN), the Endowment is participating in a unique national initiative identifying innovative ways to create an adequate nursing workforce equipped with the specific skills necessary to meet the changing demands of the 21st century patient population. 

               The Endowment for Health was awarded a two-year grant of $230,000 to expand ethnic and racial diversity of the nursing workforce and nursing education faculty. The project will focus on:

•             Increasing awareness of the nursing profession among minority youth;

•             Strengthening academic preparedness for nursing education;

•             Increasing the number of nurses with advanced degrees from underrepresented populations; and

•             Increasing the number of nursing instructors in NH. 

The PIN grant is matched dollar for dollar by local and regional funding partners including the Endowment for Health, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation and others.

The Endowment for Health led the development of the New Hampshire Nursing Diversity Pipeline Project in partnership with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Office of Minority Health, Southern NH AHEC, B.R.I.N.G. I.T.!!! (a program of Southern New Hampshire Services), the NH Minority Health Coalition, and numerous New Hampshire health care organizations, nursing education programs and nursing leaders. PIN funds support:

•             Summer camps;

•             After-school programs to explore nursing careers;

•             Academic and college admissions support for high school youth;

•             A minority nursing network for aspiring and practicing nurses; and

•             A Future of Nursing Scholars program for minority nurses seeking advanced degrees.

Lamienne Maurice and Sevda Islamova are two young people who participated in the

B.R.I.N.G. I.T.!!! After School Nursing Program.

“We’ve learned a lot of things,” says Lamienne of the program. “It helped me think about my future and let me know I have a mission to accomplish -- that I have hope, an option, and I know that life has a purpose. You have to believe in yourself, because it’s the only option,” she said.

That confidence-building experience had an effect on Sevda as well. “The “B.R.I.N.G. I.T.!!! Nursing Program has been the best experience in my whole life. It has taught me that I can help others who are suffering. I’ve already learned CPR, how to take blood pressure, and first-aid care. I want to be the best I can in a profession I love. I can picture myself nursing patients in 10, 15, even 20 years’ time. I believe this program will guide me to develop as individual and unlock my full potential.”

Nearly 25 percent of Manchester’s school-aged children are from minority backgrounds. The NH Nursing Diversity Pipeline Project will prepare minority youth for successful careers in health care, especially nursing. They are the future of our state.