Walden Announces New Educational Partnerships with Hospitals and Health Systems

Minneapolis—June 7, 2011—Walden University is pleased to announce that it has formed partnerships with four hospitals or healthcare systems in New York, Georgia, Florida and Texas. The educational partnerships offer healthcare workers the opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree online to gain the expertise and practical learning experience they need to further their career and address emerging opportunities in the field.

Nurses in these organizations can enroll in Walden’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Completion Program and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program. Both programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), a national accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Nurses who meet admission criteria also have the opportunity to enroll in Walden’s new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, which prepares advanced practice nursing professionals to take on greater leadership roles in healthcare organizations, promote a more effective and efficient healthcare system, and evaluate and apply research that contributes to better patient outcomes.

“As nurses continue to assume a greater role in healthcare, there is an increased expectation that they should have an advanced degree,” said Dr. Sara Torres, associate dean of Walden’s School of Nursing. “Through the alliance with Walden, nurses of the partner organizations have access to online degree programs that can help them meet increased expectations while providing relevant knowledge and training they can apply immediately on the job.”

The four new educational partnerships are:

• Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) Medical Center—CVPH Medical Center, in Plattsburgh, N.Y., is licensed as a 341-bed acute-care hospital and 54-bed skilled-nursing facility.
• North Fulton Hospital—North Fulton Hospital is a 202-bed acute-care hospital and state-designated Level II trauma center in Roswell, Ga.
• Sarasota Memorial Health Care System—Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is an 806-bed regional medical center in Sarasota, Fla. The medical center is among the largest acute-care public health systems in the state.
• Seton Family of Hospitals—The Seton Family of Hospitals is the leading provider of healthcare services in central Texas, serving an 11-county population of 1.8 million.

These new educational partnerships join the growing contingent of hospitals, health systems and healthcare centers that have aligned with Walden to provide educational opportunities to their employees. Walden previously announced its recent educational partnerships with five healthcare centers: Austin Travis County Integral Care, Catholic Medical Center, Northwest Hospital, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System and St. Vincent Health.

Through Walden’s educational partnerships, organizations are exposed to quality, state-of-the-art degree programs that focus on real-world challenges and inspire positive social change. Employees of the partner organizations can choose from more than 50 online degree programs and more than 225 specializations and concentrations in areas of study such as nursing, counseling, psychology, human services, public health, healthcare administration and healthcare management.

For more information on Walden University, its programs and its educational partnership opportunities, visit www.WaldenU.edu.

About Walden University
For more than 40 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 42,500 students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries are pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university provides students with an engaging educational experience that connects them with expert faculty and peers around the world. Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 55 campus-based and online universities in 27 countries.

Walden offers more than 50 degree programs with more than 225 specializations and concentrations. Areas of study include health sciences, counseling, human services, management, psychology, education, public health, nursing, public administration and information technology. For more information, visit www.hlcommission.org/.