To meet the career-enhancing needs of licensed practical nurses in Columbus County, Southeastern Community College received a $500,000 grant in December 2024 to bridge LPNs at an accelerated rate into the Associates Degree of Nursing program. This newly created Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse Transition Program is a response to the growing demand for registered nurses in southeastern North Carolina. Funding was provided by the NC Community College System High-Cost Healthcare Workforce Program Grant. 

The program will start in 2026 with year one focused on acquiring equipment, hiring faculty and enrolling students. The program is expected to increase the number of nursing graduates, helping to meet local healthcare workforce needs while maintaining SCC’s high academic standards. 

With hospitals and medical offices struggling to fill RN positions, the program aims to address workforce shortages. Columbus County has only 88.5 RNs per 10,000 residents, below the state average of 106. SCC’s current nursing programs have seen high success, with a 100% licensure pass rate in 2023 and 96% in 2024. 

“This program allows LPNs to obtain RN roles in a shorter timeframe and receive a higher livable wage and higher quality of life,” said Jessica Hill, Dean of Nursing and Healthcare Training. 

Hill explained this program will help working parents by taking less time away from their career and families. She said the increased number of calls from LPNs asking if SCC provided a program like this spurred a call to action for obtaining the grant funding. 

“Over the next year, we will build this program from the ground up,” Hill said. “Admission criteria and focusing on what will give us the best student will be a priority.”  

The new transition program will consist of three additional courses and require the hiring of an LPN-RN Transition Program Coordinator to manage admissions, curriculum, and clinical scheduling. To further support students, SCC will also hire a Success Coach dedicated to helping non-traditional students, such as working parents, navigate their education and career path. The Success Coach will provide mentoring, support services, and assist students in developing key professional skills. 

The total cost of the LPN to RN Transition Program over a two-year period is $573,940. A breakdown of the budget showed the grant covering $500,000 of the total cost, and SCC covering the remaining $73,940. 

Hill said the transition program will utilize new equipment with new Lifecast mannikins, a remodeled HyFlex classroom and hospital bed suite package. Hill explained that the new mannikins will aid the LPN-RN Transition students develop appropriate clinical judgement skills while helping to suspend their disbelief during practice and scenarios. The HyFlex classroom will video and audio record instructor lectures and provide backup options for employed students with family and work obligations.   

With Columbus Regional Healthcare System as the largest healthcare employer in Columbus County, the transition program will help fill their employment gaps.   

“As a rural healthcare provider, Columbus Regional Healthcare System struggles to recruit RN’s,” said Megan Sargent, CRHS’s Chief Nursing Officer. “SCC’s LPN to RN Transition Program would open the door for many local LPNs to return for their RN, completing this in a shorter timeframe than the ADN program. This would benefit CRHS in numerous ways.” 

Sargent explained that having local people who are invested in the community as RNs at the hospital would help maintain the hospital’s high quality of care. She said that RNs in the acute care setting are necessary to provide safe staffing ratios, and RNs are also needed for more advanced roles throughout the organization such as RN FA, SANE, and Wound Care.  

“CRHS fully supports a bridge program at SCC and will partner with them however needed to ensure its success,” Sargent said. 

Interested or want more information on the LPN-RN Transition program? Contact Renee Long at renee.long@sccnc.edu to get started on your new career as a registered nurse at SCC.