SC Nurse Retention Initiative Keeps Nurses Here, Happy

Pictured left to right: nurses Maria Novoa, Lauren Londono, Erika Thalacker, Krystal Maldonado

Launched in 2021, the South Carolina Nurse Retention Initiative (SCNRI) has made tremendous strides in working to combat the growing nurse shortage facing Beaufort County and Hilton Head Island.  The program, which offers a financial incentive to nurses who remain employed in Beaufort, Hilton Head and Jasper County Primary Health Care, is not only having a positive impact on our local health care system, but on the lives of the 30 nurses who have been the recipients of this financial incentive -- who have been given the opportunity to grow their careers and prosper while remaining in our area. 

With every nurse estimated to care for 6-8,000 patients per year, the addition of these 30 nurses to our local health care system will continue to have a positive impact on tens of thousands of patients throughout the Lowcountry.  Additional nurses and improved nurse-to-patient ratios have many proven benefits to both our health care system and patients themselves – including fewer medication errors, shorter hospital stays, lower patient care costs associated with readmission, increased patient satisfaction -- and lower patient mortality.

“The South Carolina Nurse Retention Initiative program has proven that we can have a direct impact on the nurse shortage in the Lowcountry, and on the lives of the nurse recipients and their families,” said Bob Elliott, SCNRI co-founder.  “Nurses are the backbone of our health care system, saving lives and improving patient outcomes while providing love and support in our lives from birth to death.  We are proud of our accomplishments as the only non-profit in existence addressing the nurse shortage, but there is now more demand than funding.  The work to build a sustainable nurse workforce has just begun, and additional funds will enable us to have a larger and more immediate impact.”  

Each of the nurses who has received this financial incentive to remain working in our area is already contributing greatly to our health care system, including:   

• Nana Akua Ackaah (who received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May of 2022 from USCB) is now employed as an Operating Room RN at Beaufort Memorial

• Kimberly Alicea (who earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from USCB last year) has been employed by Hilton Head Regional Medical Center since June, 2022

• Cullen Estep (who attended the College of Coastal Georgia where he received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May of 2022) is now working at Beaufort Memorial Hospital as an Operating Room RN

• Cherise Shaw Gardner (who received her Associate’s Degree in Nursing from ECPI University in Charleston, SC in April, 2022) is currently a Staff Nurse at Beaufort Memorial.  

• Hanna James (who graduated from East Tennessee State University in May of 2022) and is now an RN at Beaufort Memorial.  

• Christian Lorenzo (a recent graduate of USCB) now works at Beaufort Memorial as an Registered Nurse in the Progressive Care Unit.

• Bailey Moore (who graduated from the Technical College of the Lowcountry in December 2022) is a field RN for the Friends of Caroline Hospice

• Samantha Parlagreco (who received her BSN from Clemson University) works for Hilton Head Regional Healthcare in Labor and Delivery. 

• Rosalyn Paulino (who graduated in May, 2022 from Technical College of the Lowcountry) and is currently employed at Sea Island Pediatrics in Beaufort.  

• Dean Smith (a recent graduate of Technical College of the Lowcountry) works at Hilton Head Hospital in the Same Day Surgery Unit.  

Nurses are unanimously pointing to the value of the SCNRI’s financial incentive for enabling them to not only remain in the Beaufort County/Hilton Head area to work where they live, but to live/work where they love – and be part of our health care system here in the Lowcountry.  In fact, a recent survey of nurse recipients has shown that while nurses have had the opportunity to leave our area, they have chosen to stay as a result of the SCNRI.

“The SCNRI was a large part of the reason I am choosing to remain in Beaufort County. With the cost of living on the rise, the extra funds are extremely helpful, especially as a mom raising two children,” notes one program participant, with another pointing out that “I have been able to use the scholarship to make up for the difference in the cost of living here when compared to other places and that has allowed me to stay.”  Both long-time Beaufort/Hilton Head/Jasper County residents, and those attracted to our area due to the financial incentive are also pointing out the importance of the SCNRI in their decision to be part of the local health care community – with one participant noting that “as resident of Beaufort County, I desire to see those around me live healthier lives, and I am honored to take care of those in my community first. I had many offers to work outside of my community but I chose not to.”  

 “This scholarship has influenced my decision to stay at Beaufort Memorial for the full 2 years of employment,” said another nurse recipient.  “It has been difficult to keep up with the cost of living in Beaufort County but this scholarship has assisted me in paying my student loans.”

In addition to helping to retain nurses in the Lowcountry and attract them to work in our area  (with the program demonstrating that it can attract nurses from surrounding areas including Charleston, Tennessee and Georgia), Elliott points to the importance of the SCNRI’s work in both thanking nurses for their service and helping them to become financially stable.  

“I think this support from government and the community demonstrates that this nurse shortage is an important issue we face and something that needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner,” said Elliott, noting the important role that the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry and other supporters have played in the launch, and growth, of SCNRI.  ““Nurses are staying because the program has shown them that the community values their continued service by providing the economic support to allow them to remain. In addition, the opportunity exists to have an even greater impact on the nurse shortage with additional funding.”

For more information about the SCNRI, including partnership and donation opportunities, visit www.scnurseretention.org.