Health care
BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY
Health Care Edition
2024
Community Impact ’s annual Health Care Edition features news on the timeliest topics in the industry. Content ranges from major health care developments to listings of nearby health care facilities. Articles within this guide are focused on local topics a ecting your community, and are written by our team of journalists to meet our mission of providing trusted news and information everyone gets. Our annual Health Care Edition is always one of the most anticipated issues of the year. In this edition, we report on the expansion of Children’s Medical Center as well as expansion of Collin College’s nursing program, both of which re ect the area’s growth. Thanks for reading!
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What's inside
Check out a list of health care facilities in Plano (Page 16 17)
Plano Athletic Club assists with clients’ health concerns (Page 18)
Area experts talk dealing with allergies (Page 19)
Collin College growth to help meet region’s health care needs chalked up to several factors, including burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and a shortage of quali ed nursing educators.
As North Texas faces a shortage of nurses and other health care professionals, Collin College has continued to expand opportunities for area students to help ll that need. What’s happening When Collin College Director of Nursing Amy Wilson met with area health care partners, prior to last fall semester, they expressed a major need for more nurses. According to a 2022 report from the Texas Department of State Health Services, North Texas had the highest vacancy rates for registered nurses, 35.2%, in the state. That vacancy rate for registered nurses was up from 16.9% in 2019. Collin College responded by increasing its admission from 90-to-120 students per semester in its LVN-to-RN bridge program, which provides a path for licensed vocational nurses to become registered nurses. “Over the course of the last year, we’ve had an additional 100 students placed in nursing programs,” Wilson said. “That’s completely on the demand of our community.” What else Wilson said that nursing shortages can be
She added that Collin College has been able to maintain enough educators to support its fast-growing nursing program, along with the addition of other “nontraditional” teaching methods—such as virtual reality. The health care shortages extend beyond nurs- ing; 64% of hospitals had reduced services due to sta ng shortages, according to a 2023 report from the Texas Hospital Association. Michelle Millen, Collin College’s dean of aca- demic a airs for health sciences, said the college works with area hospitals and high schools into the health care eld. What’s next Millen said the college is “always looking” at new growth opportunities to expand its health care o erings. The most recent addition is the Clinical Oper- ations Management program, which launched last fall, and is Collin College’s second health care related bachelor’s program, joining nursing. Future areas of growth could include medical and cath lab technician programs, Millen said.
Collin College o ers a variety of programs related to the health care industry, including its Nurse Aide Training.
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PLANO NORTH EDITION
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