LifeBridge Health and McDaniel College Announce Landmark Nursing Partnership
Westminster - Leaders from LifeBridge Health and McDaniel College joined together at Carroll Hospital on Oct. 30 to announce a landmark partnership that helps to address the nursing shortage in Carroll County and the surrounding region through McDaniel’s new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) program, which will also benefit McDaniel students and LifeBridge Health team members.
Carroll Hospital worked with McDaniel to build the college's B.S.N. program, helping to address the need for qualified nurses by combining the liberal arts with the technical knowledge and skills to prepare future nurses who are practicing in diverse healthcare settings. It’s estimated that there is a current shortage of 5,000 registered nurses in Maryland, and projections show that shortage to worsen over the next 12 years to nearly 15,000.
“The ongoing nursing shortage is one of the many reasons Carroll Hospital has worked closely with McDaniel in developing the college’s new Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which officially started this fall with its first cohort of students. We are so thrilled that McDaniel College’s nursing program will be housed at Carroll Hospital and look forward to welcoming these nursing students to our facility to experience the real-world applications of the skills they will be learning in a thriving clinical environment,” says Garrett Hoover, president and chief operating officer of Carroll Hospital. Hoover is also senior vice president of LifeBridge Health.
McDaniel’s nursing students will have early and frequent exposure to clinical work within a hospital setting following two years of classroom instruction and training beginning in the fall of 2026 when offices, nursing classrooms and labs for McDaniel’s nursing program will be located at Carroll Hospital. McDaniel’s nursing students will also have access to Carroll Hospital's state-of-the-art facilities, including the Kahlert Foundation Simulation Center. The Kahlert Foundation has awarded a $2.5 million grant to support McDaniel’s Nursing program.
"Embedding the students’ clinical coursework into the hospital itself through the construction of classrooms and other educational spaces will enable students to have invaluable, hands-on experience in a hospital environment, helping them build confidence and competence in their future profession,” says Julia Jasken, president of McDaniel College.
She adds, “While there are numerous examples of medical systems that are affiliated with large universities, we believe that it is unique for a college to partner with an existing system in this way. We are eager to create a new model designed to create a long-term solution to address the critical need for nurses."
In addition to Carroll Hospital, other LifeBridge Health locations in the Baltimore area — Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, and Grace Medical Center — will serve as the primary clinical site placement locations for McDaniel nursing students. McDaniel’s nursing students will also be eligible for LifeBridge Health’s CARE BRAVELY scholarship if they make a commitment to working in the LifeBridge Health system after graduation.
In recognition of the partnership between McDaniel and LifeBridge Health, President Jasken announced the establishment of the LifeBridge Legacy Scholarship for the children of LifeBridge Health employees who apply to and are admitted to McDaniel College. This guaranteed scholarship is valued at up to $132,000, or $33,000 annually for four years, and there is no limit to the number of scholarships awarded each year.
About Carroll Hospital
Carroll Hospital is the heart of its tight-knit community, proudly serving the region for more than six decades. It has grown from a one-building hospital to a comprehensive patient-centered medical campus. The hospital offers a nursing and rehabilitation center on campus, nationally ranked care, the latest medical technology and skilled clinicians in a variety of specialties.
Carroll Hospital is part of LifeBridge Health, one of the largest and most comprehensive providers of health services in Maryland. For more information, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org.
About McDaniel College
McDaniel College, founded in 1867, is a four-year, independent college of the liberal arts and sciences offering more than 70 undergraduate programs of study, including pre-professional specializations and student-designed majors, and over 20 graduate programs. One of 40 “Colleges That Change Lives,” McDaniel emphasizes experiential learning and student-faculty collaboration to develop the unique potential in every student. Represented by the Green Terror, its 24 athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference. A student-centered community of 1,800 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students offers access to both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., plus a European campus in Budapest, Hungary. www.mcdaniel.edu
Contact
Sharon Boston, 410-601-4350, lbhmedia@lifebridgehealth.org
Cheryl Knauer, 410-857-2294, cknauer@mcdaniel.edu