Riverside Community College District faculty and staff and Moreno Valley city leaders are divided over possible plans to add a nursing school at the district's Moreno Valley campus.
At a district board meeting last week, a consultant recommended not adding the nursing school because of the district's program at Riverside City College, the high cost of a new program, the shortage of qualified faculty and on-site training at Inland hospitals. The consultant recommended a re-evaluation within five years.
The board took no action last week. Since then, at least two board members said they support creating a nursing school in Moreno Valley. Today, the board will vote on whether to accept the report at a 6 p.m. meeting at the Moreno Valley campus.
Nursing faculty at Riverside City College, where ground is expected to be broken this spring for a nursing building, support the consultant's findings and questioned the need for a second nursing school.
"It's extremely expensive to create a new program," said Angie Fawson, a nursing faculty member at Riverside City College and former department chairwoman. "Especially with these economic times, I'm thinking 'Where is the thought process here?' "
Many Moreno Valley city and campus leaders disagree with the consultant's recommendation. They said new development would reduce the cost and add more opportunities for hospital training. They also said the school fits into city plans to create a medical corridor around Riverside County Regional Medical Center.
"If we can get this nursing school running in the next three to five years, it will connect all the dots," said Jamil Dada, chairman of the Moreno Valley Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Allied Health Sciences Advisory Council, a regional group that voted Wednesday to support creating the nursing school.
Riverside Faculty Oppose
The Riverside Community College District consists of campuses in Riverside, Moreno Valley and Norco. The Riverside campus, known as Riverside City College, has had a nursing school since 1952.
The Moreno Valley campus opened in 1991. It's known as the health science campus because it has about 14 medical-related programs, including those for dental hygienists, physician assistants and paramedics.
The nursing school building at Riverside City College, expected to be completed in 2012, will triple the schools' square footage, said Sandra Baker, dean of the School of Nursing.
About 500 students are enrolled in the nursing program, Baker said. The new building will allow for an additional 150 to 200 students, she said.
Baker said Moreno Valley campus and city leaders raised valid points for adding a second nursing school, but that she supports the consultant's findings because the school is already struggling to find sites for hands-on medical training for its students and a new nursing school would be costly.
"It seems like it wouldn't be the best use of taxpayers dollars to have a second nursing program in Moreno Valley," Baker said.
Moreno Valley Support
Proponents of the Moreno Valley nursing school said recent developments make it more feasible.
Monte Perez, president of the Moreno Valley campus, said he received letters last week from hospitals in Corona and Murrieta that stated they would provide placement for students.
In response to the consultant's report, he said the Moreno Valley campus plans to prepare its own report for the December board meeting.
Bonnie Flickinger, a Moreno Valley city councilwoman and chairwoman of the Allied Health Sciences Advisory Council, said the cost for the Moreno Valley nursing school would be reduced because a developer has agreed to build a health sciences center and lease it to the college.
The center would be at Riverside County Regional Medical Center and house nine other health science programs, she said.
Flickinger said the nursing school is a "perfect fit" for Moreno Valley because of existing and planned facilities.
Kaiser Permanente purchased financially struggling Moreno Valley Community Hospital in June. March Healthcare Development has plans to open a 3.6 million-square-foot medical complex at March Joint Powers Authority Property adjacent to Moreno Valley. UC Riverside plans to open a medical school in 2012.
Two district board members also said they support a nursing school in Moreno Valley, but both are undecided on the best time to add the school.
Mary Figueroa, board president, said the nursing school in Moreno Valley is "something that needs to happen." Janet Green, a board member, said she's not against adding a second nursing school and that it needs to be done "sooner or later."
Reach Sean Nealon at 951-368-9458 or snealon@PE.com source
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