In response to disturbing trends in women’s health, Carlow University will offer the only women’s health nurse practitioner program in the region.
| Marketing and Communications | For Immediate Release |
| Drew Wilson, Director, Media Relations | February 16, 2017 |
| 412.578.2095 (phone) | |
| 412.260.6807 (cell) | |
| 412.578.2080 (fax) | |
| agwilson@carlow.edu |
The Only Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Master’s Program in Western PA Will Begin in the Fall of 2017
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Carlow University’s newest graduate nursing program is aimed at reducing some disturbing trends for women’s health. Consider: Women in the United States today are more than twice as likely to die during childbirth than they were 30 years ago, and women are also more likely than men to die within a year of suffering a first heart attack.
In response to those disturbing trends, Carlow University announces that it will offer a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) master’s degree program beginning with the Fall 2017 semester.
“Carlow has the only WHNP graduate program in western Pennsylvania,” said Lynn E. George, PhD, dean of the College of Health and Wellness at Carlow. “The students will be specifically trained to provide primary, gender-specific, gynecological and obstetrical care across a woman’s lifespan.”
This program is well-timed in other ways, too. National workforce data indicates that many of the current women’s health nurse practitioners will be at or nearing retirement age in the next five years.
“Carlow has developed a much needed program to train additional providers dedicated to women’s health,” said Maribeth McLaughlin, BSN, MPM, vice president of operations at Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC. “Magee is focused on providing high-quality care for this population across the region, and the students enrolled in Carlow’s WHNP program will graduate with the knowledge and skills to support these efforts in the years to come.”
The program, which has already been approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), has also met the approval of many leading regional providers of women’s health care.
“Our primary goal is twofold: to increase the number and distribution of advanced practice WHNP in designated medically underserved and health care provider shortage areas in western Pennsylvania and beyond, and to meet the growing health care needs of women from puberty, through the child-bearing years, post-menopause, and as elders,” said Deborah Mitchum, DNP, ANP-BC, the program director of the Graduate Nurse Practitioner Programs at Carlow. “Through this program, Carlow also plans to prepare optimally qualified advanced nurse practitioners to serve as leaders of practice innovation and change.”
Carlow’s WHNP program can be completed in a little more than two years by taking classes offered in a hybrid format: in-person, online, and practicum. Graduates will be eligible to sit for board certification as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner through the National Certification Corporation (NCC).
For more information about the WHNP program at Carlow, please visit www.carlow.edu or call (412) 578-6125.
About Carlow University
Carlow is a private, co-educational, Catholic university located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s “Eds, Meds, and Tech” district. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Carlow’s graduates, curriculum, and partnerships reflect its strong commitment to social justice; ethical, forward-thinking and responsible leadership; and service to the community that has a meaningful impact. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered in three colleges: Health and Wellness, Leadership and Social Change, and Learning and Innovation. Carlow graduates are in demand for their professional expertise, in fields ranging from nursing, the sciences, and perfusion technology to counseling, education, and forensic accounting; their entrepreneurial spirit and creative mindset; and their ability to manage change. Carlow’s eleven athletic teams are known as the Celtics, a reflection of the university’s Irish heritage and roots.