Celebrating the Success of the Larimer County Nursing Shortage Program!

As the three-year grant term for the Nursing Shortage Program ends, we want to take a moment to celebrate its incredible impact on our community. This initiative, funded by the Economic Development Administration, was established to address the critical nursing shortage in Northern Colorado. 

A shortage of qualified nurses is occurring nationwide, in Colorado and the Northern Colorado region.  Recognizing the need for acute nursing talent, Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development (LCEWD) received a grant from the Economic Development Administration to fund a nursing shortage program manager position for three years.

Leading the charge was Carol Salter, our dedicated Nursing Shortage Program Manager. Carol's extensive healthcare leadership experience and commitment to our region have been key to the program's success. Here are a few of the program's achievements:

The position has ended but we wanted to share with you some of the program's accomplishments. 

• Partnered with the NOCO Health Sector Partnership (HSP) to organize the highly successful Nurse Well Being Conference, attended by over 500 nurses over the past three years, to address retention, nurse well-being, and engagement. Feedback from the conference in February included the following comments from nurses:

  • “I absolutely loved this conference. It moved me. I have taken so many tools with me home, so a big thank you to everyone who put this together. I feel appreciated and loved.”
  • “I loved this conference and think these topics should be presented to all healthcare professionals. The presentations were engaging, relevant, and informative. Thank you for organizing such a valuable event.”
  • Surveys received from participants showed that 99% of attendees who responded Agreed or Strongly Agreed that the interactive teaching strategies enhanced their learning.
  • LeeAnn Thieman, as the guest speaker, drew the attention of Channel 9 News to do a segment on her work with Operation Babylift. While attending the conference, Jeremy Hubbard covered the Nurse Well Being Conference as a separate story.

• As co-chair of the NOCO Health Sector Partnership, Carol has been involved with several healthcare events including:

  • Get Into the Guts which encompasses health career exploration for middle school students.
  • Health Care in Your Future Summit is directed to health care organizations.
  • Clinical Instructors Workshop to address consistent nurse preceptor training.
  • Careers in Behavioral Health Career Exploration for college students.
  • Management of several state grants to expand the HSP reach to rural school districts.

• Carol interviewed over 100 healthcare providers to understand the challenges and opportunities in the nursing profession. These interviews with local health care organizations drove the work on recruitment and retention of nurses and affordable workforce housing.

  • Recruitment and retention work included the Nurse Well Being Conference.
  • Affordable workforce housing included discussions with banks and mortgage lenders regarding the possibility of a specialized mortgage for nurses. She also focused on affordable workforce housing. Several developers were contacted, and projects were proposed that will take time to develop.

• Collaborated with academic partners.

  • Carol served on the Nursing Advisory Boards of Front Range Community College and Aims Community College. She also served on the College of Natural and Health Sciences Advisory Council at the University of Northern Colorado.
  • In the K-12 space, Carol participated with the Poudre School District and Thompson School District Advisory Committees, and the Thompson CTE Task Force. In this space, she acted as a convener between teachers and health care organizations to facilitate job shadowing opportunities, clinical opportunities, career exploration among other things.

• Carol created a nursing newsletter sent to local Chief Nursing Officers. In researching content, she explored innovative approaches like Gig nursing and re-engaging retired nurses.

• Carol was involved in numerous nursing boards and committees.

  • Carol served on the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence Governing Board which is the Nursing Workforce Center for the State of Colorado.
  • She participated on two Future of Nursing committees which addressed wellness and nursing diversity. She worked on information that was published in a nursing journal.
  • She participated in the Healthcare Workforce in the West committee which shared best practices.

• Carol was able to participate in several unique events.

  • Carol presented at the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers in Washington DC, regarding her Nurse Well Being Conference.
  • Carol also testified on legislation on behalf of nursing to pass HB 23-1246 called Career Advance Colorado to fully cover tuition, fees and course materials for nurses.

The Nursing Shortage Program is part of the Larimer County Economic Development Team's program of work. Learn more about Economic Development Services and the Economic Development Team.