Erika De Los Reyes’ reporting on the nursing shortage’s impact on the Rio Grande Valley has it right. She states, “The solution to the nursing shortage problem is education” (May 14). While nursing programs across the state and country are seeing declines in enrollment, Western Governors University’s Michael O. Leavitt School of Health has expanded its nursing prelicensure program to meet the increasing demand for new registered nurses — which is estimated to reach 1.2 million new nurses by 2030 according to the American Nurses Association.
Student enrollment opened in March with rolling start dates and clinical opportunities right here in Weslaco. The program aims to add more than 4,800 newly qualified nursing graduates to the workforce by 2027.
As an online, accredited and nonprofit university, WGU Texas’ hybrid degree program is designed to increase accessibility through a curriculum that combines online courses with in-person clinical rotations and practice simulations. Our model allows us to attract and train more rural and first-generation college students in the communities they love and hope to serve.
Online learning is a valuable tool, one with increased usefulness, giving more students the ability to become registered nurses and altering the trajectory of this workforce deficit in the RGV.
Linda Battles
Chancellor and regional vice president
WGU Texas
Austin
Arroyo Trail
not wanted
As one of the residents who attended the meeting with the HarlingenParks and Recreation Department about the proposed third phase of the Arroyo Hike and Bike Trail, I would like to clarify that we are not in favor of this project. We have agreed to offer our input to the engineers designing it because we want them to get the true picture of the major changes this will make to the environment of the arroyo and the serenity and security of our properties. The project has not been approved by the city commissioners, and we pray that it won’t be.
Currently this part of the arroyo is an undisturbed haven for wildlife and it acts as a buffer from city traffic and noise. Many of the attendees at the meeting said this was a major reason for buying their property. Both the building of the trail and its use would ruin the quiet and chase away the wildlife.
We are also very concerned that the creation of the trail would affect the flow of the arroyo and exacerbate the erosion that is already occurring to our land.
If the trail is built, it will likely be underwater a great deal of the time and it will cost the city a lot in repairs and maintenance. It won’t achieve the city’s purpose of connecting the existing trails because it will be unusable. It will be an expensive boondoggle with extreme negative effects.
Jan Shenkenberg
Harlingen
Laws
blasted
Wow! Our nutty MAGA citizens are really stooping to new lows all over this great country of ours lately with their latest round of laws in several states. The governor in Arkansas signed into law that a child age 14 can be hired by unscrupulous employers to do almost any kind of work! Are we as a country going back to the stone age?
Bill Williams
Palmview
LETTERS — Limit letters to 300 words; all letters are subject to editing. Mail: P.O. Box 3267, McAllen, TX78502-3267; Email: [email protected]
