“It’s extremely important that they be taken care of so they can take care of others.” — Jan Mauck
Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition: Allowing Nurses To Reach Their Educational Goals The Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition (SNAC) focuses on educating and qualifying nurses so they can teach nursing students in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, and Charlotte counties. SNAC was started by Jan Mauck, a former chief nursing officer who worked in the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System for 41 years, and Charles Baumann, an Of Counsel member of Kerkering & Barberio. So how does SNAC go about increasing the education of nurses within the four-county region? One major way is through scholarships. “We’ve given over a million dollars in scholarships to students that either want to go back and get their bachelor’s degree or decide to get it from the beginning,” says Mauck. Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition also works with students who would like to pursue their doctorate degrees and begin teaching. SNAC also helps ensure there are enough accredited nursing schools in the area. “There’s not a lack in the number of people who want to go into nursing,” begins Mauck. “What there’s a lack of is qualified, credentialed schools that have enough slots to provide programs for nursing. We had no traditional BSN programs in this region.” 54
SARASOTA SCENE | JANUARY 2022
Thanks to the help of SNAC, there are now two traditional nursing programs in the region, in which students can earn their BSNs. In addition, colleges have streamlined their programs. This means that students can go directly into a four-year program after completing their first two years, without any additional courses being required. “I would say that’s probably our biggest accomplishment,” says Mauck. The workforce is forever changing and evolving. Jobs that our grandparents could never have imagined in their wildest dreams have come about. Jobs that were once a staple of our society are becoming obsolete. But one career that will always remain is that of nursing. Nurses are so much more than just a part of our workforce, they are capeless heroes much needed in our communities— now more than ever. “It’s extremely important that they be taken care of,” says Mauck. “So they can take care of others.” Visit snac4fl.org to learn more.