Clemson University School of Nursing receives $3.75 million to deliver specialized training in rural health care and bolster nursing workforce
March 3, 2026
The Clemson University School of Nursing has received a $3.75 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to deliver specialized training in rural health care and address the nursing workforce shortage in Upstate South Carolina.
The collaborative project includes Clemson University, Tri-County Technical College (TCTC) and Prisma Health. Lucia Gonzales, associate professor and associate director of research in the Clemson School of Nursing, serves as project director.
The grant will provide financial support for 30 nursing students – 15 Clemson students and 15 TCTC students – over a four-year period. Participants will attend nursing classes at their respective institutions and clinical training at Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital during the fall and spring semesters and receive specialized training in Appalachian health care during a six-week summer session. The specialized courses will be delivered by six Clemson School of Nursing faculty scholars on Clemson’s campus. The courses will cover acute and long-term care topics such as rural genetics and genomics, patient education, health promotion, health care leadership, geriatric frailty, palliative care and mental health.
According to Gonzales, seven Upstate South Carolina counties are designated Appalachian by the Appalachian Regional Commission with Oconee County classified as entirely rural, Appalachian and medically underserved.
“This transformative grant and the unique partnership between institutions allows us to elevate nurse education across Clemson University and TCTC by delivering innovative experiential and clinical learning opportunities and specialized training in rural health care,” said Gonzales. “The Appalachian nursing initiative ensures that, in addition to clinical expertise, graduates possess a community-centered perspective necessary to deliver quality care to individuals in rural communities across the state.”
In addition to classroom learning, students will complete 80 clinical and simulation hours at Prisma Health Oconee Memorial Hospital, a general acute care hospital within a 17-hospital health system; Lila Doyle Post Acute, a 120-bed long-term care and rehabilitative center in Oconee County; and Clemson University Nursing Simulation Center, a state-of-the-art facility with standardized patients, wearables and virtual reality capabilities.
“The School of Nursing is committed to nursing workforce development and prepares graduates to deliver high-quality care on day one of employment,” said John Whitcomb, director and chief academic nursing officer in the School of Nursing. “In partnership with TCTC, we are strengthening the nursing pipeline through shared resources and coordinated instruction that directly supports the needs of communities and health care systems across South Carolina.”
The School of Nursing is a part of the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences. Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in nine disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.
