Associate Professor in the School of Nursing Dr. Leslie Folds recently received funding from the Tennessee Hospital Association and the National Student Nurses’ Association for a grant she submitted. The $16,000 grant will fund a Behavioral Health Internship Program for undergraduate nursing students next summer.

The project will aim to address current shortages of behavioral health nurses by exposing students to behavioral health settings with various patient populations and units. In partnership with Belmont’s colleagues at TriStar Health, students will complete 248 hours of hands-on, dynamic clinical rotations among multiple areas of mental health care at TriStar Centennial Medical Center-Parthenon Pavilion and TriStar Skyline Madison.

Folds will begin planning recruitment and enrollment with students beginning the program summer 2018.