BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Rusty Kilpatrick spent years as an Omaha firefighter and, before that, as an EMT. A love of the medical side of that work led him to pursue a new career in nursing.
Kilpatrick was among dozens of nursing graduates honored at a pinning ceremony at Creighton University. His area of focus is mental health nursing.
"Be on your feet, work with your hands. Those were the things I was looking for at the time in a career," Kilpatrick said.
His specialty comes at a critical time for Nebraska. According to the University of Nebraska Medical Center's 2021 Legislative Report — the most recent data available — 88 out of 93 counties in the state had a shortage of mental health professionals.
Jessica Clark, dean of the nursing school, said those shortages have real consequences for patients.
"Shortages mean longer wait times for care...maybe not the best care that we can provide, right? So you walk into any institution that's understaffed, and that may mean less bodies...maybe less quality care," Clark said.
Kilpatrick and his classmates who specialized in behavioral health had their one-year accelerated nursing degree fully paid for through a unique scholarship program at Creighton designed to help fill this need in Nebraska.
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