UND Launches Program to Tackle Rural Nursing Shortage

(Photo by Jen Koller/CNPD via UND Today)

(By Walter Criswell. UND Today) – The University of North Dakota’s College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines has launched Gero-STARR, a federally funded program designed to expand North Dakota’s nursing workforce and improve care for older adults across the state’s rural communities.

Funded through a $3.6 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Gero-STARR — Specialized Training to Advance Recruitment and Retention of Nurses in Acute and Long-term Care — addresses a need in rural North Dakota: recruiting future nurses from North Dakota who commit to practice in hospitals or long-term care facilities in North Dakota, where older adults make up the majority of patients and residents.

The program pairs specialized Age-Friendly Care training with scholarships, monthly stipends, mentorship and hands-on clinical experience — all with the goal of strengthening the rural nursing workforce and improving care for older adults across North Dakota.

The program’s inaugural cohort includes eight nursing students, all with roots in rural North Dakota. Each Gero-STARR student signs an agreement indicating they intend to work in North Dakota in acute care or long-term care for at least one year after graduation, helping ensure the program’s impact reaches communities across the state.