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Panel OKs funding that would boost Janesville nurse-training program

MADISON — The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee on Friday approved funding for a bachelor’s-degree nursing program based in Janesville.

“I am thrilled,” said UW-Rock County Dean Diane Pillard, who has been the driving force behind the program.

If the full Legislature and governor approve, the money—$170,000 a year for two years—means the program is a go, Pillard said.

Funding had been in doubt. UW-Rock has been seeking private funding, mostly to cover the cost of added instructors.

Pillard said she knew Rep. Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, and Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, would try to get state funding, but she didn’t know how much it would be, or even if they would be successful, given the state’s precarious budget situation.

“I really thought this was a long shot, so the work they must have done behind the scenes was just phenomenal,” Pillard said of Robson and Sheridan.

“This is like a dream come true, and I am so grateful to Judy Robson and Mike Sheridan for all the work they’ve done in Joint Finance,” Pillard said.

The plan is for prospective nurses to get basic coursework at UW-Rock and then a two-year nursing degree at Blackhawk Technical College.

The nurses would then return to UW-Rock for more coursework, some taught by UW-Oshkosh instructors. UW-Oshkosh would confer the bachelor’s degrees. Some students have already begun taking pre-nursing classes.

The Assembly and Senate still need to approve the budget, and Gov. Jim Doyle has to sign it without vetoing this provision for the funding to be a sure thing.

“If they pass this, we’re going to have (nursing) classes come January,” Pillard said. And if the budget gets passed this summer, UW-Rock could provide additional sections in microbiology and anatomy courses this fall.

“This is still tentative, but it’s a wonderful first step,” Pillard said, noting hopefully the vote in Joint Finance was unanimous.

“With the closing of the General Motors plant, our area has a huge number of displaced workers eager to go back to school for a degree in a high-demand occupation, and nursing is certainly a high-demand occupation,” Robson said.

Robson pointed to surveys that many nurses are nearing retirement and the fact that a second hospital is in the planning stages for Janesville.

Dean Health System and the not-yet-built St. Mary's Janesville Hospital pledged $90,000 over three years to the effort earlier this month. Pillard said she still needs to raise more private funding to make sure the program is sustainable.

Now, nurses can get two-year degrees through Blackhawk Tech. Others go to Madison or Rockford for four-year nursing degrees.

“Too many people in Rock County are faced with the challenges of unemployment and an uncertain future,” Sheridan said. “It’s critical we give them hope and help to prepare for future careers.”

“This could be a model for other communities, as well,” Robson said.