Washington State University Tri-Cities welcomed 10 students from Tri-Tech Skills Center into the inaugural class of its Nursing Bridge program during an award ceremony on Wednesday, May 21, at Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick, WA.

The new program is designed to expand access to nursing careers by creating a direct, supported pathway from high school CNA training to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. The initiative is funded by a grant from Career Connect Washington Program Builders.

Students selected for the Nursing Bridge program will complete the first two years of pre-nursing course requisite while gaining two years of paid Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) experience in one of 3 partnering hospitals. Upon meeting all admission requirements, they will receive direct admission to the WSU Tri-Cities College of Nursing to begin the pre-licensure BSN program.

“This is such an amazing opportunity for high school students who already have their CNA license and want to advance their nursing careers,” said Heather Kraemer, Nursing Bridge coordinator. “The fact that they can gain hospital experience while working toward their degree really helps remove barriers to getting that critical hands-on training.”

The program is a collaboration between WSU Tri-Cities, the WSU College of Nursing, Tri-Tech Skills Center, the Career Connect Washington, and local hospital partners including Kadlec Regional Medical Center, Lourdes Health and Trios Health.

The students selected for the program are:

• Karyme De La Mora, Kennewick
• Sydnee Garsjo, Kennewick
• Emmerson Gimlin, Mesa
• Briana Guizar, Kennewick
• Sidona Inslee, West Richland
• Cadence Iverson, Kennewick
• Zoey Kunkel, West Richland
• Jade Mojica, Kennewick
• Ana Plascencia, Pasco
• Jacob Rodrick, Kennewick

Lisa McKinney, assistant director, Angela Nemeth, CNA program director and Roger Potts, pre-Nursing instructor at Tri-Tech were instrumental in helping to recruit the first cohort of students. “We are very excited to recognize these pioneering students and celebrate the launch of a program designed to strengthen the local health care workforce and support the next generation of nurses,” McKinney said.

For more information about applying to the WSU Tri-Cities Nursing Bridge program, including eligibility requirements and application steps, please visit the program website. Inquiries may also be emailed to Christina Chacón, academic director of the WSU Tri-Cities College of Nursing, at Christina.Chacon@wsu.edu