USC Sumter to Begin Offering Bachelor's Program in Nursing

Program Officially Begins in Fall 2021 Semester

by Alethia Hummel

Sumter, SC (07/21/2021) — Through conversations with local healthcare providers, USC Sumter discovered the need for additional Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) prepared nurses in the Sumter community. As a result, USC Sumter, in partnership with USC Aiken, will begin offering the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program during the fall semester of 2021. USC Sumter will be the first in their community to offer such a degree. The goal of the program is to not only, educate and train future nurses but also encourage these nurses to stay local.

Designed to prepare students for a career in a variety of health care settings, the nursing curriculum at USC Sumter will provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the rapid and ever-changing healthcare environment. A BSN program graduate will also earn the necessary pre-requisite work required to continue learning for post-graduate nursing education. The USC Aiken at Sumter Nursing program is approved by the South Carolina State Board of Nursing and is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Tina Simenson has been hired as the Nurse Administrator to lead the new program.

"I'm very excited to help bring this program to USC Sumter. Our students and the community will certainly benefit from having a Bachelor of Nursing program here in Sumter," said Simenson. "Students are more likely to stay in a community where they have studied and interned. The USC Sumter nursing program will be a huge benefit for our town, which like many communities, suffers from a nursing shortage."

To facilitate the learning needs associated with the new program, the campus has renovated space in the Anderson Library where students will experience an active learning environment with redesigned nursing classrooms, dedicated study space, a nursing skills lab, and a state-of-the-art high-fidelity simulation lab.

"We are grateful for the donors, grants, and legislative support that we have received in support of our new program," said Michael Sonntag, Dean of USC Sumter. "Having simulation labs and newly renovated science labs available on the Sumter campus will add valuable tools that our faculty can use to make sure our students are getting state-of-the-art nursing education."

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