TC3 partners with Cayuga Medical Center to expand nursing program

DRYDEN, N.Y. — Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) in Dryden will create a new evening nursing program in Ithaca in January as part of an agreement with Cayuga Medical Center.

The initiative seeks to help TC3 expand its nursing program, per a news release on the community college’s website.

Cayuga Medical Center will provide a total contribution of $237,474 to TC3 over four years, which will pay for the additional nursing faculty needed to expand the program. The agreement will allow the school to accommodate 10 students that start in January 2022 and graduate in December 2023.

An additional 10 students are set to start in January 2024 for anticipated graduation in December 2025, the school said.

“We are thrilled to be able to partner with Tompkins Cortland Community College to help improve access to those who wish to further their education into the field of nursing,” Dr. Martin Stallone, CEO of Cayuga Health, said. “These are unprecedented times for health care and the need for nurses has never been greater than it is now.”

Cayuga Health System has two hospitals — Cayuga Medical Center and Schuyler Hospital in Montour Falls — as well as a multi-specialty group, Cayuga Medical Associates.

Students will take all their general-education requirements prior to beginning the nursing program, allowing them to complete the nursing requirements by taking classes and doing clinical visits three nights per week.

Professor Kim Sharpe, chair of the TC3 nursing program, believes the format of the new program “will be attractive” to a different group of people than the traditional degree program that starts in the fall each year.

Besides the evening classes, TC3 also sees timing as another significant component of the new program.

With the spring semester start, the college will graduate nurses in December, which is traditionally a time of year with few new nurses entering the workforce.

“The College is constantly reassessing the programs we offer to make sure we are aligned with the needs of our communities,” Paul Reifenheiser, provost and administrator in charge of TC3, said. “Our nursing program is very much in demand, both by potential students and by employers looking to hire our graduates. We have a long-standing and highly valued relationship with Cayuga Medical Center, with generations of our nursing students doing their clinical hours and, quite often, finding employment with them. We share a common goal of serving our community, and this is a great new chapter in our partnership.”