HCA Healthcare, Inc. announced Galen College of Nursing is opening a new campus in Asheville, North Carolina, as it continues to expand opportunities to educate a growing number of future nurses amid a national shortage. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be an average of 194,500 registered nursing jobs available annually over the next decade. The Asheville campus, which is expected to open in late September, will be the eighth new campus Galen College of Nursing has opened since joining HCA Healthcare in January 2020.

At the time, Galen offered nursing programs across five campus locations, as well as an online campus, and had a total enrollment of approximately 7,100. When the Asheville campus opens, Galen College of Nursing will have 13 campus locations. Galen's total enrollment is expected to reach approximately 10,000 this year.

HCA Healthcare has more than 93,000 registered nurses holding positions from bedside caregivers to leadership roles in various healthcare settings and at every level throughout the organization. Bringing Galen into the HCA Healthcare family was designed to combine two leading nursing organizations to increase access to nursing education and to provide nursing career development opportunities for HCA Healthcare colleagues. approximately 1,900 HCA Healthcare colleagues are enrolled at Galen College of Nursing to help advance their careers.

HCA Healthcare has loan repayment and tuition assistance programs for eligible colleagues. In addition, opportunities for collaboration between clinical practitioners and faculty are expected to help enhance teaching by connecting evidence-based practice to the delivery of nursing education. To that end, Galen and Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Healthcare, recently collaborated to develop an oncology care elective that will be available next month and teaches recent advances and emerging trends in oncology nursing care.