SLS 19RS-387 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 77
BY SENATOR BISHOP
NURSES. Requests the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, Southern University School of
Nursing, and Southern University at New Orleans to collaborate on the process and
procedures required for the establishment of a nursing education program on the campus of
Southern University at New Orleans.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To urge and request the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, Southern University School of
3 Nursing, and Southern University at New Orleans to collaborate on the process and
4 procedures required for the establishment of a nursing education program on the
5 campus of Southern University at New Orleans.
6 WHEREAS, there is a nationwide shortage of nurses that is estimated to reach over
7 one million new nurses needed to support the workforce by 2024; and
8 WHEREAS, it is crucial to have a strong nursing workforce because among other
9 things, the number of nurses available to work in the market directly correlates to the number
10 of hospital beds opened and made available to patients; and
11 WHEREAS, Southeast Louisiana residents have access to hundreds of specialists,
12 and more than forty area hospitals located between the Northshore and New Orleans, many
13 of which are considered the best in the United States; and
14 WHEREAS, it is imperative that Louisiana colleges and universities continue to
15 educate and graduate nurses to meet the demands of the market; and
16 WHEREAS, the Southern University School of Nursing in Baton Rouge (SUSON)
17 was approved by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing in 1985 and has attained accreditation
18 by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education; and
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SLS 19RS-387 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, since 1988, SUSON has been recognized nationally for its success with
2 minority students, having graduated more than two thousand nurses with a bachelor of
3 science in nursing (BSN) degree, an educational attainment that positions nurses for more
4 responsibility, supervisory roles, and higher salaries; and
5 WHEREAS, Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) was established in 1956
6 and today has a student population in excess of two thousand students; and
7 WHEREAS, SUNO is uniquely positioned to offer a nursing program that would
8 allow students to train in and graduate into the medical hub of New Orleans, providing a
9 robust array of job opportunities and ensuring that patients have continued access to care;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, the Louisiana State Board of Nursing has been statutorily vested with
12 the authority to approve schools of nursing; and
13 WHEREAS, it is imperative that Louisiana State Board of Nursing, Southern
14 University School of Nursing, and Southern University at New Orleans collaborate on the
15 process and procedures required for the establishment of a nursing education program on the
16 campus of Southern University at New Orleans.
17 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
18 urge and request Louisiana State Board of Nursing, Southern University School of Nursing,
19 and Southern University at New Orleans collaborate on the process and procedures required
20 for the establishment of a nursing education program on the campus of Southern University
21 at New Orleans.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
23 executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, the dean of the Southern
24 University School of Nursing, and the chancellor of Southern University at New Orleans.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SCR 77 Original 2019 Regular Session Bishop
Requests the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, Southern University School of Nursing, and
Southern University at New Orleans collaborate on the process and procedures required for
the establishment of a nursing education program on the campus of Southern University at
New Orleans.
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