The Cupertino Courier

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A shot in the arm for program

By HUGH BIGGAR

De Anza College's program received some welcome financial help for its nursing program at a time when there is a critical shortage of nurses.

An anonymous donor gave the school $1.08 million through the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley. The donation will provide tuition, equipment and administrative fees for six students per quarter.

Marisa Spatafore, spokeswoman for De Anza College, said Santa Clara Valley is expected to need 3,075 nurses by 2010. Nationally, the American Association of Nursing Colleges estimates about a million nurses will be needed by 2014.

In the Santa Clara Valley, De Anza educates about a quarter of local nurses, with San Jose´ State University, Mission College and Evergreen College also contributing nursing graduates.

"This will mark a significant step forward in addressing the shortage of nurses in Silicon Valley hospitals," Martha Kanter, chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, said of the gift.

The money is expected to fund 66 students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in the next five years. Those students are expected to start enrolling in the winter quarter of 2007, Spatafore said.

Slots in the program are coveted, since the school currently accepts only 24 out of about 250 qualified applicants due to budget constraints.

According to Spatafore, the two-year nursing program costs approximately $13,000 each year for classroom training, hands-on laboratory work and rotations in area hospitals and clinics. At the same time, De Anza receives $4,376 in state funding per student. As a result, there is a state-mandated lottery each year for a space in the program despite the growing demand for nurses.

The odds of winning that lottery just got a little bit bigger thanks to the gift.

"We deeply appreciate the donor's vision, foresight and generosity," said De Anza President Brian Murphy.