Two Del Mar College Nurse Education Faculty Selected as Workgroup Advisory Members for Texas Healthcare Workforce Task Force
11
June
2024
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14:30 PM
Europe/Amsterdam
Governor Abbott directs Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to address healthcare workforce shortage amid growing state population
Article by Melinda Eddleman
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It’s important for our faculty and staff to share their expertise and participate in decision making made by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and state level committees to advance excellence in education. So, I’m very pleased to have two Nurse Education faculty serve in leadership roles to address the concerns about healthcare workforce shortages as workgroup advisory members for the Governor’s appointed Texas Healthcare Workforce Task Force.
Dr. Jonda Halcomb, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer
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“These two Del Mar College faculty are highly qualified to represent the Coastal Bend, and they’ll make significant contributions to the benefit of healthcare in Texas,” Dr. Halcomb added.
DMC Nurse Education Faculty_Mary L Borchardt
Dr. Borchardt’s background includes teaching the associate degree program for 22 years, serving in the Reserve Army Nurse Corps for 28 years as well as having practiced as an emergency room nurse for 30 years.
As part of her nomination, Dr. Borchardt noted, “I offer perspectives from different environmental experiences to explore alternative milieus [settings] in reshaping the shortages identified in the state’s healthcare workforce”
Her colleague, De Leon, also brings a different perspective to the table by having extensive experience as a clinical instructor, director of nursing for a school district and a background in pediatric care.
DMC Nurse Education Faculty_Sandra De Leon
“I would bring a multifaceted approach to addressing the nursing shortage within the healthcare task force,” she wrote, citing that her clinical experience equips her with the ability to mentor and train the next generation of nurses; her administrative duties with the school district provides insight into effective resource management, along with policy advocacy supporting retention and recruitment of nurses; and her pediatric experience allows her to understand unique needs within that area of medicine and specialized pediatric nursing roles.
“Through collaboration, education and advocacy, I am confident that I can contribute significantly to alleviating the challenges posed by the nursing shortage and strengthening the healthcare workforce,” De Leon wrote.
About Del Mar College
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.
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He also has presented his research at numerous conferences, symposia and talks across the state, bringing attention to historical issues that are particularly relevant to Corpus Christi and South Texas. Dr. Stone’s commitment to leadership and solving challenges at the College has been extensive, including but not limited to directing the History Program and chairing both the DMC Curriculum Committee and Faculty Council. He recently chaired the History Program’s Five-Year Review Committee, an important and very labor-intensive project. Besides teaching duties consisting of 15 credit hours of U.S. History class assignments each semester, Dr. Stone also advises History and Social Science degree students. Dr. Stone’s work on these vital committees has helped establish and enhance institutional policies directly related to the faculty constituency and academic standards. 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In addition to receiving the Piper Professor Award and Creighton Award, the College’s student body elected Dr. Stone as the 2021 Teacher of the Year Award recipient for the Heritage Campus, adding to many previous credits he already received. Additionally, Dr. Stone served as the honorary keynote address speaker during the 2023 Southern Jewish Historical Society’s Annual Conference, and he was the Southern Jewish Historical Society Book Prize winner in 2011. The Association of Community College Trustees is a nonprofit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,000 community, technical and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. For more information about ACCT, go to www.acct.org. UPDATE: Watch the video clip with Vice President and Chief Academic Office Dr. Jonda Halcomb announcing Dr. Stone's receipt of both the Piper Professor Award and the ACCT Western Region Faculty Member Award:
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