WVU School of Nursing Receives Training Grant Focused in Primary Care

U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin announced West Virginia University will receive an almost $420,000 grant designed to help train more specialized nurses.

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources and aims to train more specialized nurses in primary care. According to Teresa Ritchie, the Coordinator for the WVU School of Nursing, there are a total of 2,000 Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in West Virginia and 220,000 nurse practitioners in the country.

There are currently 130 students in WVU’s Advanced Practice program, and Ritchie anticipates more with the help of the grant.

In a news release, Senator Capito said the funds will assist nurse trainees with the costs for materials and lead to a stronger, more robust health care system.

This announcement came less than a week after the inception of a bill that grants West Virginia’s experienced, advanced nurses independent practice.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Author: Liz McCormick

Liz is WVPB's Webmaster/Digital Coordinator and Eastern Panhandle Bureau Chief, based in Shepherdstown, WV on Shepherd University's campus. Liz is a native of Charleston, West Virginia. She received a M.A. in Strategic Communication from American University in 2022 and a B.A. in Communication and New Media from Shepherd in 2014. Prior to her role as webmaster, Liz was WVPB's Eastern Panhandle reporter from 2014-2022, the House of Delegates reporter on "The Legislature Today" from 2015-2017, and she covered K-12/higher education from 2020-2022. Liz has also worked as a technical assistant and associate producer on "The Legislature Today." View all posts by Liz McCormick