FTCC Respiratory Therapy students work in a lab.
Fayetteville Technical Community College has been awarded $1.5 million in grant funding to support its health programs over the next two years.
The funding comes from the N.C. Community College System’s High-Cost Healthcare Expansion Grant, a $55 million initiative aimed at strengthening the state’s healthcare workforce pipeline. Through the initiative, grants were awarded to all 58 members of the state system.
FTCC’s portion will expand two existing programs — Nursing and Respiratory Therapy — and help launch a new Cardiovascular Technician program scheduled to begin classes in Fall 2025.
All three areas have been identified as having a high need for workforce development in the healthcare industry, especially in rural and underserved areas.
FTCC’s Cardiovascular Technician program and Respiratory Therapy program, both part of the College’s Allied Health offerings, will receive $500,000 and $400,000, respectively.
Dean of Allied Health Michelle Walden said the funds provide “a tremendous boost” to the two programs, both of which are in response to critical healthcare needs in the local community.
“These grant funds will allow us to expand resources, enhance hands-on learning opportunities, and support our students with advanced training that prepares them for the healthcare workforce,” Walden said. “This investment not only strengthens our programs but also empowers our students to build rewarding careers in these essential healthcare fields.”
In 2022, FTCC doubled its enrollment capacity in Respiratory Therapy from 24 to 48 students, as need for the field grew following the Covid-19 pandemic. This funding will help pay for program equipment, instructional supplies and materials, and continued faculty preparation and professional development.
FTCC’s Cardiovascular Technician program will welcome its first cohort in Fall 2025 with an enrollment capacity of 30 students. FTCC will also partner with three other community colleges — Bladen, Robeson, and Sandhills — to expand educational opportunities to students who live closer to those colleges. Students enrolled in the partner colleges will be able to attend FTCC classes in-person or through synchronous virtual attendance. Labs will be scheduled to minimize travel for students at partner colleges, and students will participate in clinicals at locations close to their residences.
Nursing students participate in a Clinical Skills Training session in a simulation lab.
The Associate Degree Nursing program will receive $600,000 to increase enrollment capacity from 280 to 400 students, including funding new faculty positions, and help fund a regional partnership with Bladen Community College to help address the need for high-quality healthcare workers in Bladen County. That partnership will start in 2025.
FTCC’s has pushed to expand its Nursing program at the urging of community partner Cape Fear Valley Health, which has expressed a need for more nurses throughout its system.
FTCC recently opened its Nursing Education Annex, the second of a two-phase project to expand nursing facilities on the college’s Fayetteville campus. The annex, which opened in September, houses office space for faculty and staff.
The two-story Nursing Education & Simulation Center, which opened in January 2023, includes classrooms and 32 hospital beds in state-of-the-art simulation labs as well as study rooms and meeting spaces.
