January 10, 2025
Bachelor of Science in Nursing students Haley Reid, left, Savanna Billington and Keaira Houle spend time together at the Clean Energy Technology Centre in Drayton Valley between studies for their BScN degree. Supplied.
Story by Tracy Kennedy
DRAYTON VALLEY — You’ve heard it takes a village to raise a child. What you may not have heard — but it holds just as true — is that it takes a municipality to graduate a rural nurse.
The town of Drayton Valley has taken this to heart, and has partnered with the University of Calgary (UCalgary) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) to deliver the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program.
In September, the new Drayton Valley BScN program admitted its first nine students. All are studying to earn their degree, preparing them to become registered nurses (RNs), through a blend of virtual learning and hands-on clinicals and labs.
“We are a community of 6,700 people three hours away from Calgary, 1.5 hours from Edmonton, and we wanted to make sure we provided a service that allowed people to stay within Drayton Valley if they wanted,” says Kundiso Nyambirai, growth services manager for the Town of Drayton Valley.
The town reached out to UCalgary and AHS as a potential location for the newest iteration of the Bachelor of Nursing – Rural Community Route program, which launched with its first set of students in Wainwright in 2021.
As part of the partnership, the town provides free classroom space, Internet access, printer, and people to watch over exams at the Clean Energy Technology Centre, which also houses the Health Care Aide Academy and space for tutors and homeschooled children.
In addition to the physical space, town and industry donors are well-positioned to offer financial help to students through the Zero-Fee Tuition program, which can provide up to $5,000 per eligible student. Area businesses raised $40,000 to help support the grants, which are offered to students of the BScN program as well as the other post-secondary programs offered in town.
Nyambirai says subsidizing tuition helps remove educational barriers and allows students to climb the next step in their educational journey.
“It’s quite important to us. Whether it’s getting academic upgrading so they can level up some of the subjects they didn’t do so well in in high school, to where today I’m looking to attract certificate programs, diploma programs and degrees. So, we were looking for the next level for students, right? It’s that continuity.”
The town is trying to further sweeten its offerings to students, as staff work on a student recreation package, which offers a subsidized student rate for pool and recreation centre access, in addition to ongoing conversations to secure prioritized daycare spaces for students with children — all in an effort to retain healthcare workers locally.
In addition to the town’s efforts and the support of area businesses, the Drayton Valley Health Foundation is planning its contribution to healthcare education and long-term community wellness as well. The group plans to support the creation of a future eSIM lab. The eSIM (educate, simulate, innovate, motivate) lab uses simulation to recreate clinical events safely.
In addition to benefiting patients in the region, eSIMs can help with skills development, recruitment and retention of healthcare staff.
“You have young adults born and raised in Drayton Valley who see opportunities elsewhere, and that’s tough from an economic development perspective because the 18-25 age group is meant to be a workforce for the community and they’re the ones most susceptible to outmigration,” says Nyambirai.
“For businesses looking to locate here, they can find these amenities in Drayton Valley. And for a young workforce, compared to other communities, it makes us as capable as we can be.”
The first year of the BScN program in Drayton Valley is already underway, but applications are being accepted for the second cohort of students to begin the program next September. Deadline to apply is March 1. See details here.