St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing Closing After 120 Years UPDATED

St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing Closing After 120 Years UPDATED

GoLocal has learned that the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing will close — students in the program will be transferred.

The alumni board was briefed on Tuesday about the closure.

“It’s with heavy heart we learned today that [the] school of nursing will be shuttering its doors immediately. Current students will be accepted into the NEIT program. The school has provided countless graduates who provided care to residents of Rhode Island over its 100 plus years, as well as the world. We wish to thank the present and past faculty and the alumni association for their help and guidance. Our hope is to preserve the memories of our school and the honored reputation of being a St Joe’s Grads,” the alumni group announced.

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"St. Joseph School of Nursing offers a program leading to a diploma in nursing. Graduates of the program are eligible to take the national licensing examination for Registered Nurses. The School of Nursing offices, skills labs, computer lab, and meeting rooms are located in Marian Hall on the campus of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, Rhode Island. St. Joseph School of Nursing classes are held at the Salve Regina Campus in Warwick, Rhode Island," according to the school's website.

On Wednesday morning CharterCare provided GoLocal with the following statement on the closing:

Nursing education programs and market trends continue to challenge diploma schools of nursing like the St. Joseph School of Nursing, which has operated for more than 117 years. Further changes in our enrollment and tuition have led us to the decision to close the school this year in the best interests of our students.

We are pleased that we reached an agreement with the New England Institute of Technology (NEIT) to have all current students accepted into its associate degree program this fall. Both St. Joseph and NEIT are offering individualized guidance and information assistance to affected students to facilitate a smooth transition.

 

Alumni Reaction

Alumni reacted with disappointment to the announcement.

“This wonderful school of nursing changed my entire life. I received the best nursing education and have utilized my skills learned for the last 27 years. I have saved lives, touched lives, and made life long friends because of the school. I am so sad that other promising wonderful nursing will not be able to receive such an amazing education at this school. The legacy of St Joseph Hospital School of Nursing will forever live on in our hearts and through the care delivered to our patients and residents,” wrote Tina Berry Correia on Facebook.

“This is ridiculous! Why?? The enrollment is high, they graduate excellent nurses, they have a bridge to BSN program. I have been a nurse for over 25 years and every place I worked, the St.Joseph’s nurses and nursing students were considered cream of the crop. This is a sad day for nursing in this state,” wrote Beth Manton.

In May the program had celebrated its graduation ceremonies for its 117th class. The St. Joseph School of Nursing, located on the campus of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.

“Family and friends attended the celebration at the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul in Providence with the Reverend Timothy Reilly, MA, JCL, Chancellor, Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, presiding over the presentation of 36 diplomas and pins to the graduating class of 2019,” announced the school in May.

According to the school's history

Founded as a 3 year Diploma School in 1899 by the Sisters of St. Francis of Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, “St. Joseph Hospital Training School for Nurses” became part of the only Catholic hospital in the state of Rhode Island, which had been opened in 1892. The first graduation occurred in 1902, with 5 nurses receiving diplomas.  In the early part of the 1900s, the name of the school changed to St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing.

In 1912, Rhode Island put into law the state’s first Nurse Practice Act, and soon after St. Joseph’s received its first state approval as a nursing education program.

Nurses Union Opposes the Closure

"St. Joseph's is part of the fabric of our state's nursing community. For more than 100 years, this quality institution has produced talented and dedicated RNs who are taught to deliver care with compassion. The instruction and attention provided at St. Joseph's is unique within higher education, and we intend to fight to keep it open," said Lynn Blais, RN, St. Joseph's Class of 1984, and president of UNAP Local 5110, which represents the educators and staff at St. Joseph's, as well as the registered nurses and service employees at Fatima Hospital. 

Blais said contract negotiations have recently started for the RNs at Fatima and that the continued operation of St. Joseph's will be part of the local's bargaining proposals. Alumni of the school received word of its impending closure on Tuesday. 

"This place is too important to let go without a fight. It means something to thoughtfully and dutifully prepare the next generation of bedside caregivers, and we will do all that we can to preserve this treasured, century-old tradition," Blais said. 
Blais added that Prospect CharterCARE, the for-profit owners of the school of nursing and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, have turned their backs on the community and the school by failing to properly invest in and market the facility. 

"Our efforts to persuade Prospect to invest in more modern technology and teaching equipment have fallen on deaf ears for nearly five years. Since taking over the school of nursing, Prospect CharterCARE has made no capitol improvements and have allowed St. Joseph's resources to be drained as they failed to effectively market what was once among the best-known nursing schools in New England," Blais said. 

"Once again we see that this is about profits, not people. Prospect CharterCARE has no ties or commitments to Rhode Island beyond serving its' shareholders. They will hardly shed a tear for shuttering an institution that has opened the doors to nursing for countless Rhode Islanders and their families," she said. 

This story was updated at 6/20/19 7:58 AM. Updated again at 6/20/19 7:05 AM