Grand Canyon University, Lovelace partner on accelerated nursing program in Albuquerque
Jun. 3—Brandy Vandermolen loved the excitement and constant change of working in emergency medical services for seven years. Now, she wants to be on stable ground as a hospital nurse.
Vandermolen, who lives in the Albuquerque area, will graduate from Grand Canyon University's new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in April to achieve this goal.
The university's Albuquerque campus officially launched its program on Tuesday — an innovative partnership between the school and Lovelace Health System, which offers students hands-on learning through in-person clinical settings.
The program, a 16-month curriculum that also includes online learning, directly addresses New Mexico's nursing shortage by putting professionals in the field faster.
Stacey Fort, Lovelace director of education, said there are about 7,000 nursing jobs posted in New Mexico alone. Separately, the state could lose 5,140 nurses over the next 10 years, according to a 2024 Think New Mexico report.
"We've had a nursing shortage for decades, but COVID really changed the whole scene of nursing staffing," Fort said. "New Mexico only has 16,000 practicing nurses. We need more than that."
Danielle Edwards, GCU executive director of nursing services, said the program enrolls cohorts every spring, summer and fall semester. The university has similar setups across the country, including one in St. Louis, Missouri, that launched last year. She said each group has a maximum capacity of 48, adding that the goal is to keep these students in New Mexico upon graduation.
The 16-month curriculum includes online coursework, in-person clinicals and immersive skills labs at GCU's Albuquerque campus, which received upgrades as part of its partnership with Lovelace.
The GCU facility houses a student lounge, an immersive simulation suite, two skills labs and two classrooms. Edwards said construction began last August and was completed in December, ready to aid the first cohort of Albuquerque students who started classes in January, including Vandermolen.
The collaboration also allows students to complete clinicals at Lovelace sites, giving them real-world experience and helping foster professional relationships with instructors. Fort said the partnership also provides Lovelace's staff with opportunities to grow by becoming GCU adjunct faculty.
"Our instructors were nurses, so they bring a wealth of information," Vandermolen said. "Partnering with Lovelace and getting to go on their sites and meet the nurses that are working currently, talking with them and their experiences, and the things that they find important for us to know to implement in our care is really important."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Airline cancels all flights, shuts down leaving travelers stranded
Silver Airways, a regional airline based in Florida, abruptly canceled all flights on Wednesday, June 11, leaving travelers stranded after announcing bankruptcy. "We regret to inform you that we are ceasing operations as of today, June 11, 2025," the Fort-Lauderdale-based company posted on it social media pages. "In an attempt to restructure in bankruptcy, Silver entered into a transaction to sell its assets to another airline holding company, who unfortunately has determined to not continue Silver's flight operations." The carrier operates in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. "Please do not go to the airport," the airline wrote. "All credit card purchases should be refundable through your credit card company or your travel agency." The move, the company reported on social media, came after a potential buyer decided not to fund the airline's operations during a sale out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. As the airline wrote on social media, all tickets purchased by credit card will be fully refundable to the form of purchase. According to Robert W. Mann, Jr., a former airline executive officer and current president of R. W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, tickets not purchased by credit card will still be eligible for refunds, but those would-be passengers will have to get in line with other airline creditors. Passengers with tickets who need to travel soon will likely need to purchase tickets on other airlines at higher prices, according to Mann. It's very rare for airlines in the U.S. to completely go out of business. Often, struggling airlines get purchased by other carriers or folded into another company's operations. According to Mann, a few small regional airlines that operated on behalf of larger carriers went out of business during the height of the COVID pandemic, but those larger airlines reshuffled service to bridge the gap. Other smaller airlines like Tailwind, which provided scheduled seaplane service between New York and Boston, have also gone out of business more recently. Tailwind shut down operations in 2024, according to Mann. (This story was updated to add new information.) Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Silver Airways bankruptcy: Flights canceled after airline shuts down
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Airline cancels all flights, shuts down leaving travelers stranded
Silver Airways, a regional airline based in Florida, abruptly canceled all flights on Wednesday, June 11, leaving travelers stranded after announcing bankruptcy. "We regret to inform you that we are ceasing operations as of today, June 11, 2025," the Fort-Lauderdale-based company posted on it social media pages. "In an attempt to restructure in bankruptcy, Silver entered into a transaction to sell its assets to another airline holding company, who unfortunately has determined to not continue Silver's flight operations." The carrier operates in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. "Please do not go to the airport," the airline wrote. "All credit card purchases should be refundable through your credit card company or your travel agency." Why did Silver Airways shut down? The move, the company reported on social media, came after a potential buyer decided not to fund the airline's operations during a sale out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Silver Airways ticketing county at Jacksonville International Airport. Biz 05jiaupdate01231 What happens to passengers with tickets on Silver Airways? As the airline wrote on social media, all tickets purchased by credit card will be fully refundable to the form of purchase. According to Robert W. Mann, Jr., a former airline executive officer and current president of R. W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, tickets not purchased by credit card will still be eligible for refunds, but those would-be passengers will have to get in line with other airline creditors. Passengers with tickets who need to travel soon will likely need to purchase tickets on other airlines at higher prices, according to Mann. What was the last US airline to shut down? It's very rare for airlines in the U.S. to completely go out of business. Often, struggling airlines get purchased by other carriers or folded into another company's operations. According to Mann, a few small regional airlines that operated on behalf of larger carriers went out of business during the height of the COVID pandemic, but those larger airlines reshuffled service to bridge the gap. Other smaller airlines like Tailwind, which provided scheduled seaplane service between New York and Boston, have also gone out of business more recently. Tailwind shut down operations in 2024, according to Mann. (This story was updated to add new information.) Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Silver Airways bankruptcy: Flights canceled after airline shuts down
Indianapolis Star
11-06-2025
- Indianapolis Star
Airline cancels all flights, shuts down leaving travelers stranded
Silver Airways, a regional airline based in Florida, abruptly canceled all flights on Wednesday, June 11, leaving travelers stranded after announcing bankruptcy. "We regret to inform you that we are ceasing operations as of today, June 11, 2025," the Fort-Lauderdale-based company posted on it social media pages. "In an attempt to restructure in bankruptcy, Silver entered into a transaction to sell its assets to another airline holding company, who unfortunately has determined to not continue Silver's flight operations." The carrier operates in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. "Please do not go to the airport," the airline wrote. "All credit card purchases should be refundable through your credit card company or your travel agency." The move, the company reported on social media, came after a potential buyer decided not to fund the airline's operations during a sale out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. As the airline wrote on social media, all tickets purchased by credit card will be fully refundable to the form of purchase. According to Robert W. Mann, Jr., a former airline executive officer and current president of R. W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, tickets not purchased by credit card will still be eligible for refunds, but those would-be passengers will have to get in line with other airline creditors. Passengers with tickets who need to travel soon will likely need to purchase tickets on other airlines at higher prices, according to Mann. It's very rare for airlines in the U.S. to completely go out of business. Often, struggling airlines get purchased by other carriers or folded into another company's operations. According to Mann, a few small regional airlines that operated on behalf of larger carriers went out of business during the height of the COVID pandemic, but those larger airlines reshuffled service to bridge the gap. Other smaller airlines like Tailwind, which provided scheduled seaplane service between New York and Boston, have also gone out of business more recently. Tailwind shut down operations in 2024, according to Mann. (This story was updated to add new information.) Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund
