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Los Angeles Jewish Home's Annenberg School of Nursing's Second Graduating Class of Vocational Nurses Aims to Help Ease Country's Nursing Shortage

RESEDA, Calif., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- While the healthcare industry bemoans a severe nursing shortage and sociologists warn of a growing health crisis amidst an aging population, the Los Angeles Jewish Home has continued to meet that challenge with its second graduating class from its innovative Annenberg School of Nursing. Launched in 2007 and made possible through a grant from the Annenberg Foundation, the Los Angeles Jewish Home is one of the only multi-level senior-living facilities in the country to offer a school of nursing on its campus.

The 2009 class of graduates is a multi-cultural group from countries throughout the world, with each graduate seizing the opportunity to fulfill their dreams and build a better life for themselves and their families through nursing.

"Many of these students have overcome personal challenges and obstacles to take this giant step," said Annenberg Program Director Marie Fagan. "We're incredibly proud of their determination and spirit and know that they will all make exceptional nurses wherever their futures may lead."

The Annenberg School of Nursing offers a full-time program that prepares students to pass the state-required exam for licensure as vocational nurses. The intensive program engages students 40 hours per week in the classroom or at clinical sites resulting in a total of 639 hours of classroom instruction and 1,041 hours of clinical training at local hospitals in order to qualify for graduation.

To help encourage students to pursue a career in nursing, the Home offers financial incentives for its students who qualify, which helps offset the $19,000 program cost. Through the generous gifts from the Annenberg Foundation, the UniHealth Foundation and private donors, students can receive a $10,000 no-interest loan which is forgiven if they take a nursing job at the Home upon graduation and stay for at least two years. Also available is no-interest loan assistance through the L.A. Jewish Free Loan Program, sponsored in part by Jewish Home donor Joyce Brandman.

Founded in 1912, the world-renowned Los Angeles Jewish Home is one of the foremost continuing senior-living facilities in the United States and is the largest single-source provider of senior housing in Los Angeles. Each year, more than 1,700 senior women and men are supported through in-residence housing on two village campus, which feature independent-living "Neighborhood Home" accommodations, residential care, skilled nursing care, Alzheimer's disease and dementia care, or through Skirball Hospice in the community. Healthcare professionals from around the world consult with the Jewish Home in an effort to improve eldercare in their home countries. The Home is a nonprofit organization that relies solely upon donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to continue its remarkable work. Further information regarding the Home can be found online at www.jha.org or by calling 818-757-4407.

SOURCE Los Angeles Jewish Home