Northwest announces intention to create Center for Rural Health

Northwest Missouri State University President Dr. Lance Tatum on Thursday announced the institution is taking aim at filling a gap and helping to train Missouri's next generation of healthcare workforce by establishing a Center for Rural Health.

Tatum presented tentative plans for the center to Northwest's Board of Regents during a Thursday morning work session, speaking to a vision he has held since arriving at the University in 2023.

"The University recognizes a critical opportunity to address growing healthcare workforce needs across rural Missouri and the surrounding region," Tatum said. "With strong student interest and increasing community demand, Northwest is advancing plans to expand our allied health programs and strengthen our industry partnerships, helping us to ensure that rural communities have the healthcare professionals and leadership necessary for a healthier future."

The Center for Rural Health at Northwest will serve as an interdisciplinary hub dedicated to training healthcare professionals and improving health in rural and underserved communities through academic innovation and program delivery. It also will serve as a resource to foster collaboration across disciplines and champion avenues for research.

"Part of our mission is to be good partners to the communities we serve in northwest Missouri," Tatum said. "There are countless opportunities how this institution - through its facilities, through its level of talent and expertise, and just through its involvement - can serve Nodaway County, Maryville, and the broader region and state."

Emphasizing the high need for nurses, Tatum pointed to data collected by the Missouri Hospital Association that shows the northwest Missouri region possesses a nursing vacancy rate of 12.1 percent while the state average is 10.1 percent. The University's geographic location positions it well to be a nursing provider, not just in Missouri but to neighboring states also.

Further, Northwest has admitted more than 2,100 pre-nursing students since 2019. Those students, however, can only complete general education and prerequisite nursing courses at the University before they must transfer to another institution to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

That convergence of interest and need creates the opportunity for Northwest to be a leader in healthcare fields while developing a strong workforce pipeline, innovative academic pathways and strengthened industry partnerships. A new four-year nursing program at Northwest will anchor the center, Tatum said, utilizing the expert faculty and resources it already possesses with its accredited RN-BSN and MSN program offerings.

Northwest could launch the center as soon as 2027.

"The workforce needs of northwest Missouri related to healthcare are real, and they are staring us directly in the face," Tatum said. "Our vision is based on an opportunity we see through increased demand in existing programs that we already offer at Northwest."