To address nursing shortage, Cox College to open campuses in Branson, Monett
Claudette Riley | Springfield News-Leader
Cox College, a private institution in Springfield, announced Monday that it will soon open two satellite campuses.
They will be located on the campus of the Cox Medical Center Branson and in Monett's Scott Regional Technical Center.
Amy Townsend, chief nursing administrator at Cox College, led the expansion and noted the locations are key.
"There is a real need in those communities," she said, in a release. "We want to help build the workforce in Branson and Monett with local nurses who are invested."
The Springfield campus — located at Cox North Hospital — received approval from the Missouri State Board of Nursing to expand its undergraduate program from 250 to 400 students. It currently has 900 students.
Education new: Springfield's Cox College poised to be Missouri's second-largest nursing program
Following the expansion, Cox will be the second-largest undergraduate nursing program in Missouri.
Renovations to wrap this spring
There is a nursing shortage nationally and, at any given time in Springfield, there are still hundreds of openings.
The main campus is expected to wrap up a $6.6 million renovation of its four-floor and 70,000-square-foot space this spring.
To start, the new satellite campuses in Branson and Monett will offer courses toward an Associate of Science in Nursing, or ASN, degree. The college will open with 10 students in each location in January 2021.
Anessa Garner, career services coordinator at Scott Regional Technology Center, said the programs are needed.
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"This is a natural fit to the community and will help serve rural health care needs," she said, in a release.
"This partnership will provide a bridge for not only residents of our community to pursue a degree in nursing, but also for our own Health Occupations students to make a seamless transition to higher education in the field of health care."
Cox College has scheduled informational meetings in the communities where the new satellite campuses will open:
Branson: 11:30 a.m. Jan. 23 at Cox Branson's Redbud Room
Monett: 11:30 a.m. Jan. 30 at the Scott Regional Technical Center.
The meetings are open to the public.
To apply for the program in Branson and Monett, which will start in January 2021 with night and weekend courses, call 417-269-3401 or email admissions@coxcollege.edu. The deadline is Sept. 1.