AdventHealth establishes endowed fund at Daytona State College to support aspiring nurses

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — AdventHealth donated $900,000 to create an endowed fund at Daytona State College to support nursing students in the Bob and Carol Allen School of Nursing, as they prepare to meet the critical need for frontline health care professionals across Volusia and Flagler counties.

Amid a growing need for nurses and nursing instructors, the endowed fund seeks to bolster the pipeline of Daytona State College nursing graduates cultivating careers at AdventHealth and attract talented educators to mentor the next generation of nurses. The $900,000 gift from AdventHealth will fund a permanent endowment and be used primarily to hire a full-time Nursing Student Success Specialist, a new position that will provide classroom instruction and tutoring designed to bolster academic performance and better prepare future nurses for the demands of working in health care.

The fund will be known as the AdventHealth Endowed Fund for Nursing Student Success.

“Over the last three years, AdventHealth has heavily invested in the recruitment and retention of talented nurses, recognizing the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our clinical team members and the crucial need for skilled caregivers,” said Michele Goeb-Burkett, chief nursing officer for AdventHealth’s hospitals in Volusia, Flagler and north Lake counties. “Knowing the breadth of Daytona State graduates who make up our nursing workforce, it’s more important than ever that the region’s health systems do their part in supporting aspiring nurses.”

Altogether, AdventHealth’s $900,000 gift, along with other industry partner contributions and a matching grant from the State of Florida through its “Linking Industry to Nursing Education” program, will provide $3.8 million to Daytona State College.

In addition to a Nursing Student Success Specialist position, as the Endowed Fund grows it will help fund scholarships and other initiatives focused on supporting student nurses, including the purchase of state-of-the-art simulation equipment for clinical training and academic programs to better prepare students for the NCLEX-RN exam required to become a registered nurse in the United States.

The endowment builds upon a longtime partnership between Daytona State College and AdventHealth and the health system’s highly successful Nurse Residency Program, which bridges the gap between nursing school and clinical practice for Daytona State graduates. AdventHealth also serves on the College’s nursing advisory board, provides student scholarships as well as tuition assistance for team members attending Daytona State College, and provides students with on-site clinical training.

“On behalf of Daytona State College and the Bob and Carol Allen School of Nursing, I would like to thank Gov. DeSantis, the Florida Legislature, AdventHealth and our community partners for their continued support of the College and our students,” said Daytona State College President Tom LoBasso. “We share the governor’s vision of providing world class medical care in Florida and our nursing program has a long-standing reputation of excellence. And thanks to the additional support of our partner AdventHealth, our nursing students will continue to receive the highest quality nursing education in the state. Together we can build a stronger community.”

Learn more about becoming a nurse at AdventHealth: AdventHealth Nursing Jobs | AdventHealth Careers.