Senators, Silver Cross Announce $1.5M In Health Care Education Funding For Moraine Valley

TINLEY PARK, IL — South suburban students seeking careers in health care will have more options in education, after two state legislators acquired additional state funding to build out Moraine Valley Community College programs.

Illinois Senators Michael E. Hastings and Bill Cunningham on Monday joined with leaders of Moraine Valley Community College and Silver Cross Hospital to announce $1.5 million in state funding to expand health care programs at the college’s Southwest Education Center (SWEC) in Tinley Park.

The funding will help Moraine Valley educate and prepare the growing number of students seeking health care careers in the south suburbs, according to a press release. The college partners with health care organizations such as Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox to offer hands-on clinical education requirements that give students real-world training opportunities.

"The significant funding from the state of Illinois will help educate and train more students in the nursing field to build their career and a bright future," Hastings said. "With the partnership of Moraine Valley Community College and Silver Cross Hospital, we can meet the growing need to provide quality health care for people across our south suburban communities."

"The need for healthcare workers, especially nurses, is growing throughout the south and southwest suburbs," Cunningham said. "Moraine Valley is uniquely positioned to train our workforce to both take care for us and grow our economy. This grant will help fulfill that mission."

Under the expansion, Moraine Valley is prioritizing the establishment of the Basic Nurse Assistant Training (BNAT) certificate program at the SWEC location and, if upon receiving regulatory approval will begin offering this program to students in fall 2025. The BNAT program is a prerequisite for the Nursing Program.

The expansion would meet growing demand for health care careers at Moraine Valley where fall 2024 Basic Nurse Assistant Training course enrollment is currently up 11.5 percent when compared to fall 2023. Fall 2024 Nursing course enrollment currently is up 9.2 percent as compared to fall 2023.

If the Nursing Program receives regulatory approval, establishing a RN Nursing Program at the Southwest Education Center would allow the college to admit 24 additional nursing students twice a year. This 33 percent increase in program capacity would give additional access to the many qualified in-district students who are not able to be admitted based on current program capacity, Hastings' office said.

"With increased applications to a number of our health care programs, we have a responsibility to create additional opportunities for students to learn the skills they need for a career in health care. By expanding our health care program offerings to the Southwest Education Center, we can train more students and help curb the employment needs of local health care facilities," said Dr. Pamela J. Haney, Moraine Valley President. "We are grateful to all of our health care partners for providing valuable hands-on learning experiences for our students, as well as Senator Hastings and Senator Cunningham for making this expansion possible."

"Hands-on clinical education is an essential part of a healthcare student’s curriculum," said Michael Mutterer, RN, MA, LCPC, CADC, LNHA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Silver Cross Hospital.

"Students not only gain necessary technical and critical-thinking skills, they also learn about the value of teamwork, effective communication and problem-solving. Silver Cross Hospital is proud to partner with Moraine Valley Community College’s Basic Nurse Assistant Training Program to help prepare the next generation of certified nursing assistants, and we hope to expand our relationship to include other healthcare career programs. We look forward to welcoming Moraine Valley students to our campus to learn, practice their skills and observe our exceptional healthcare professionals in action."