CCC Nursing Student Wins Award
Cleveland Community College practical nursing student, Rhacinda “Cindy” Barner has been selected as a 2022 recipient of the Betty Garrison Award. CCC’s nursing faculty nominated Barner.
“I was very surprised, humbled and grateful to be nominated for this award,” said Barner.
The award honors Betty Garrison, a “much loved and well-respected nurse in the Charlotte community,” who died of cancer in 2007, according to The Metrolina Council of Nursing Organizations’ website.
The organization looks for qualities Garrison was known for in the recipients of the award. CCC’s nursing faculty saw many of those qualities in Barner, including patient care excellence, commitment to community service, a good sense of humor, and genuine kindness and friendliness. “I am so happy to share in the excitement of Cindy being given the Betty Harrison award,” said Anne Wise, director of Nursing and Nurse Aide at CCC. “I am so very proud of her accomplishments; I know that she will achieve great things.”
Barner will graduate from the Practical Nursing program in July 2022 and begin CCC’s LPN-to-RN program in January 2023. She said her experience in the nursing program has been positive. “I feel confident that when I graduate, I’ll be prepared to go to work. The instructors here want you to succeed; they set you up to succeed.”
Barner will be part of the first class of registered nursing students in CCC’s nursing program. The Foothills Nursing Consortium has been dissolved. The last Consortium class will graduate in May 2023.
About CCC’s Registered Nursing Program
The first class of CCC’s standalone registered nursing program will begin this fall. Admitted students will attend all classes at CCC and complete clinicals in and around Cleveland County. By starting its own program, CCC can accept a larger group of students to each nursing class and offer students classes and clinical sites closer to home. To learn more about the Associate Degree Nursing, Registered Nursing program and CCC’s other Health Sciences programs, visit clevelandcc.edu/health-sciences.
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing
Nursing faculty and leadership at the College have applied for initial accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). ACEN is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a specialized accrediting agency. Its purpose is to provide specialized accreditation for all levels of nursing education in the U.S. and internationally. Accreditation is a rigorous peer-review, self-regulatory process that recognizes nursing programs for meeting or exceeding established standards and criteria for educational quality. For more information on this process visit https://www.acenursing.org/.