MERCY COLLEGE Twenty-six nurses will graduate

Twenty-six will receive associate of science degrees in nursing.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The first class of Mercy College of Northwest Ohio's St. Elizabeth Health Center Campus is graduating at 7 p.m. todayat St. Columba Cathedral.
Twenty-six students will receive an associate of science degree in nursing. Dr. Maria Nowicki, Ph.D., a registered nurse and director of the division of nursing at Mercy College of Northwest Ohio in Toledo, will deliver the commencement address.
The graduates completed their nursing courses at Mercy College St. Elizabeth Campus and their general education and science courses at Kent State University Trumbull Campus. Most of the graduates are planning to work in the area upon successful completion of their RN license exam, which will help relieve the local nursing shortage, school officials said. The nurse shortage was the major reason for bringing the program to St. Elizabeth's, officials said.
Diverse backgrounds
The graduates are diverse in their backgrounds. Eleven of them have degrees in other fields; they range in age from 20 to 47 years, two are men, and many are nontraditional in that they have families and already work in some capacity. There is also a mother-daughter team, according to the school.
Mercy College of Northwest Ohio is an undergraduate Catholic institution that focuses on health-care and health-science-related degree programs.
In January 2003, the St. Elizabeth Campus was officially opened for the associate's degree in nursing. Mercy College is a member of Mercy Health Partners in Toledo, and St. Elizabeth's is a member of Humility of Mary Health Partners in Youngstown/Warren. Both are regions of Catholic Healthcare Partners.