Desert Care Network and the Tenet Healthcare Foundation are supporting the expansion of nurse training in the Coachella Valley with a $1.8 million grant to OneFuture Coachella Valley. The grant will support an additional 70 students in the College of the Desert Nursing Program, doubling the size of the 2024-25 class.

“We are excited to support the rapid expansion of the high-quality nursing program at College of the Desert,” said Michele Finney, CEO of Desert Care Network and Desert Regional Medical Center. “Some of our best and longest-serving nurses came through local programs. These nurses have a special commitment to the community where they grew up, and we need them in our local hospitals.”

Desert Care Network is part of OneFuture Coachella Valley’s Healthcare Workforce Roundtable, a group of healthcare industry leaders formed to create a local response to the nationwide shortage of nursing and healthcare professionals. The Roundtable members' $1.8 million donation to Desert Care Network is part of a total $2.9 million commitment to the College of the Desert’s nursing program.

Desert Care Network’s donation will support additional staff and laboratory resources. More importantly, it will provide scholarships and non-academic financial support – including housing, transportation, and food -- so local students can successfully complete their training as nurses.

“Removing barriers for local students is critical to building a compassionate and responsive local workforce,” said Sheila Thornton, CEO of OneFuture Coachella Valley. “Often, it is not just the tuition that is the barrier; other factors include housing or transportation. Removing those barriers can help students graduate on time and start their careers as nurses caring for patients in our hospitals and healthcare centers.”

Having the support of an industry-led coalition like the Roundtable was vital to jumpstart the expansion of seats in College of the Desert’s nursing program.

"We are honored and grateful to be chosen as a trusted partner in the endeavor to head off Coachella Valley's looming healthcare workforce shortage," said Interim Superintendent/President Laura Hope. "In addition to adding more qualified employees to the healthcare workforce, we get to change the trajectory of more students' lives. Additionally, when our students benefit, many of whom will become first-generation college graduates, the entire community benefits."