[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 190 (Monday, October 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59931-59932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24101]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Single Source Program Expansion Supplement Award to Nurse 
Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Program Grantee; 
Exception to Competition

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of Exception to Competition--Single Source Program 
Expansion Supplement Award to Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and 
Retention (NEPQR) Program Grantee--Texas A&M University Corpus Christi 
(TAMUCC), College of Nursing and Health Science (CONHS).

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SUMMARY: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)'s 
Bureau of Health Professions is issuing a non-competitive single source 
program expansion supplement award to the NEPQR Program grantee TAMUCC-
CONHS to build upon their feasibility study, Transitioning Enlisted 
Health Care Training into Academic Credit for Nursing Education 
Programs, and undertake a dissemination program to advance the goal of 
aligning enlisted health care training with civilian nursing program 
requirements. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, $178,374 will be available to 
fund this award. TAMUCC-CONHS is uniquely qualified and has the 
capacity, capability, expertise, experience, and infrastructure to 
expeditiously, effectively, and efficiently implement the project 
within their existing educational programming. During the previous 
year, TAMUCC-CONHS has gained in-depth insight into the full range 
academic, financial, and socio-economic barriers that interfere with 
successful transition from military to civilian careers, and how these 
barriers are compounded by the burden of navigating the military-
academic labyrinth. Thus they are well-positioned to bridge the gap 
between health care training command programs and academic programs in 
schools of nursing work.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Intended Recipient of the Award: Texas A&M University Corpus 
Christi

[[Page 59932]]

(TAMUCC), College of Nursing and Health Science (CONHS).
    Amount of Award: $178,374.

    Authority: Section 831 and 831a under Title VIII of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p and 42 U.S.C. 296 p-1), as 
amended by Sec.5309 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act, Public Law 111-148.

    CFDA Number: 93.359.
    Project Period: September 1, 2012, through August 31, 2013.
    Justification: In FY 2010, HRSA competitively funded the eLine 
Military (ELM) program at TAMUCC-CONHS, an online nursing education 
program offered to residents of Texas who are members of the military 
or veterans with previous medical experience. One of the critical 
challenges the ELM program faced concerned granting college credit for 
health care training and experiences provided in training command 
programs. This training lacked the structure and rigor foundational to 
academic courses, creating a significant impediment to granting 
academic credit for these experiences. In FY 2011, TAMUCC-CONHS 
received a supplemental award to develop strategies to surmount the 
barriers to gaining nursing academic credit for military training and 
to develop recommendations for their implementation. This supplement 
will build upon the feasibility study and undertake a dissemination 
program to advance the goal of aligning enlisted health care training 
with civilian nursing program requirements. This supplement directly 
supports the scope of the ELM program/parent grant and has significant 
implications for returning veterans seeking academic credit for 
enlisted health care training at CONHS and nursing schools across the 
country. Identifying the barriers to efficient enrollment and pursuit 
of nursing education by veterans and developing a plan for surmounting 
these barriers will provide schools of nursing with the tools needed to 
develop effective academic pathways for veterans, bring nursing 
education opportunities to a new and largely untapped cohort of persons 
with interest in and training in health care occupations, open up 
campuses to veterans in engaging and supporting ways, spur interest in 
and enrollment in nursing programs by veterans, and increase diversity 
in the nursing workforce. A stakeholders meeting and dissemination plan 
will be designed to bring the study findings to the broadest possible 
audience.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Sochalski, Health Resources and 
Services Administration, Division of Nursing, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 
9-61, Rockville, Maryland 20857, or email at [email protected].

    Dated: September 25, 2012.
Mary K. Wakefield,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012-24101 Filed 9-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P