Jill Porter: The fate$ are cruel for student nurses in need
SYVELLA DUBOSE was elated the moment that she learned she was pregnant 10 years ago. But the joyful future that she envisioned was not to be.
SYVELLA DUBOSE was elated the moment that she learned she was pregnant 10 years ago.
But the joyful future that she envisioned was not to be.
Her 33-year-old husband was killed in a motorcycle accident the next day.
Now, on the threshold of fulfilling another lifelong dream, DuBose may be betrayed once again by fate.
The school that's given this 43-year-old single mother an opportunity to become a registered nurse may be forced to close - and soon - for lack of funding.
The state program that lent tuition money to the students at St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing has suspended operation because it's out of money.
It's a devastating blow to DuBose, to her 57 classmates, and to the school that provides a path out of poverty for its students - most of whom are low-income, African-American women.
"These people have worked really hard to get here, they've gone through a rigorous selection process and now they're in danger of not being able to make their dream come true," said Bill Deane, director of enrollment and development.
"I'm horrified."
St. Joseph's was started in 2007 in response to an acute nursing shortage and an economic reality: most low-income women couldn't afford the traditional four-year academic degree required to be a registered nurse.
The one-year diploma program costs $25,000 and entitles graduates to take the same licensing exam as college graduates. It operates out of the Girard Medical Center, at 801 W. Girard Ave., and is affiliated with the North Philadelphia Health System.
Students take prerequisite science courses - most of them attend Philadelphia Community College - and then spend the year at St. Joseph's focusing on nursing fundamentals.
The first two classes got tuition loans through a special nursing-education program created and administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.
But the economy's death spiral has shut the program down.
"We don't have the resources because of market conditions," said PHEAA spokesman Keith New.
No banks are providing student loans, development director Deane said. And only 10 students have their own financing.
On Friday, Deane and two other staff members were furloughed, and the hours of other employees were cut.
Senior Common Pleas Court Judge Eugene Maier, who helped found the school and is now its president, said he's confident that the school will be able to obtain the $1.25 million in student loans it needs to survive.
If not, said Dr. Carole Baxter, school dean, it may close by the end of the month.
It's true that many dreams have been shattered by the crippled economy. But opportunities are particularly hard to come by when you're a low-income person of color.
It's the only school of its kind in the city.
It's heartbreaking to talk with the conscientious students who are devastated at the possibility of the school closing.
"Every one of them has a story," Baxter said.
One student lived in her car while she attended community college. Another sent her child to Africa to live with her grandparents so she could be a full-time student.
"Some sold their homes, quit their jobs, put everything on hold just to be here," Baxter said. "If we can get them through, they'll make $50,000, their houses won't be foreclosed, they'll pay taxes."
And if this class survives and its graduates pass the licensing exam in sufficient numbers, the school can get the accreditation it needs to make students eligible for federal student loans.
And if it survives, Syvella DuBose will fulfill the dream she has had since she was a little girl who took care of her elderly next-door neighbor.
"He'd always say, 'That's my little nurse,' " she said.
"So, I asked my mom, 'What's a nurse?' "
DuBose is now an licensed practical nurse who wants to get her master's degree and become a teacher and nurse practitioner.
She wants to do it not only for herself but for the 9-year-old son who, before he was born, lost his father.
She wants to inspire him to chase his dream and be a success.
"I've already started saving for his education," DuBose said.
Now if only someone can save hers. *
E-mail porterj@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5850. For recent columns: