Rural Outreach Nursing Education

The Rural Outreach Nursing Education Program (RONE) is a groundbreaking program using the latest in distance education teaching and technology so that employed health care workers can pursue an Associate Degree in Nursing in their home community. The courses, including prerequisites, are available on-line through Lower Columbia College in Longview. Clinical education occurs at the student/employee’s hospital or clinic, and is augmented with additional experiences within the student’s community.

The program is a partnership of education, rural hospitals and clinics, state and non-profit agencies brought together by the Western Washington AHEC. The program received unanimous approval of the Washington Commission on Nursing, and the first group of approximately 20 students began classes in January 2009. The clinical training sites for 2009 are in Goldendale, Morton, Port Townsend and Republic. Nursing staff at the sites are clinical educators for the students.

Project partners include:

• Western and Eastern Washington AHECs

• Eastern Washington Partnership Workforce Development Council

• Health Workforce Institute

• Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts

• Ferry County Memorial Hospital

• Johnson & Johnson Promise of Nursing

• Lower Columbia College

• Morton General Hospital

• The Regence Foundation

• Washington Association of Community and Migrant Health Centers

• Washington Center for Nursing

• Washington State Department of Health

• Washington State Board of Community & Technical Colleges

• Washington State Labor Council

• Western Washington Rural Health Care Collaborative

For more student information, go to the Lower Columbia College RONE program.

If your community is interested in participating in the class of 2010, contact Bettie Rundlett at the AHEC of Eastern Washington at , (509) 358-7646, or Jodi Palmer at the Western Washington AHEC at , 206-441-7137.

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Page updated 04/21/2010