I graduated with an Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN) at Pasco-Hernando Community College in December 2001. This bit of information is no big deal, really, there are lots of people getting nursing degrees every year. If they didn’t, we would be in serious trouble. As you can see by the graduation date that I have around twenty years of experience now, again, no biggie. What is interesting is when I went to the site to get a couple of photos of the campus for my blog and book, the name had changed. It was also no longer a community college. The new name was now Pasco-Hernando State College. By this title you could infer that it now offered Baccalaureate degrees, and you would be correct in this inference. I also no longer recognized the campus, it had changed that much. It also has two totally new campuses. I, frankly, was amazed by its growth. I will list a brief time line for the reader, so you can see how the original single campus college has expanded.
It opened in 1975 with its first (East) campus being established in Dade City. The west campus was established in 1977 in New Port Richey, The north campus was established in Brooksville also in 1977, the north-west campus was established in Spring Hill in 2010, in 2014 the fifth and final campus (Porter Campus) was established in Winegrass Ranch in the southeast corner of Pasco County. As you can see by my basic timeline that two new campuses had indeed been added to the system since I graduated from the RN program in 2001. I guess, I should not be surprised because Florida is a very fast growing state. Time also stands still for no man.
“After more than four decades of service, the College has conferred nearly 37,000 degrees and certificates. Many alumni live and work in Pasco and Hernando counties, including physicians, attorneys, college professors, teachers, nurses, law enforcement officers and countless other professionals. With an operating budget of approximately $45 million, PHSC employs more than 450 full-time and permanent faculty and staff members and serves approximately 15,000 students annually.”
For those who like details and information I have included the colleges core values.
Excellence: Continuous improvement in teaching, learning, operations and service through innovation, responsiveness, and rigorous data analysis create the expectation for and delivery of exceptional educational, workplace and community achievements.
Integrity: Civility, stewardship, accountability, and a commitment to safety create an environment of transparency, trust, and respect at all levels within the college and with our community stakeholders.
Success: A commitment to student and employee engagement, development, and achievement creates a holistic focus on the competencies and skills that will empower students and employees to make positive decisions for educational attainment, career advancement, and personal growth.
Equity: Intentional actions taken to ensure the fair treatment of all and the commitment to make necessary interventions to advance underserved individuals and groups through inclusion and measurable support create a diverse and rewarding educational and workplace culture.
Community: Engaging, serving, and partnering with our community creates a mutually beneficial relationship that expands and enhances the educational, entrepreneurial, and economic opportunities to improve our quality of life.
This information was provided by the official college website, phsc.edu.
When I graduated from the program the college had over a 95% success rate in passing the nursing boards on the first try. The nursing faculty was proud of this score, and rightly so. I talked to a young nurse who just recently graduated from the college and she informed me that the percentage was now over 97%. Truly amazing, considering on how many more nurses that are now graduating from the program every year.