WOONSOCKET, R.I., Jan. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of an ongoing commitment to develop a diverse workforce that reflects the patients and communities it serves, CVS Health today announced strategic partnerships with two leading national organizations whose mission is to advance the multicultural nursing populations in the United States: the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN).

Through these newly formed alliances, CVS Health, the nation's largest pharmacy innovation company, will establish workforce development programs and strategies that facilitate multicultural talent acquisition to further develop the company's own diverse nursing populations through education, training and colleague engagement. With a unique continuum of health care products and services, CVS Health supports a broad nursing workforce that includes: Nurse Practitioners who see patients through the company's MinuteClinic network; Nurse Patient Care Specialists who serve the company's specialty patients; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) Nurses who provide in-home education and infused medication therapies; and Patient Education Nurses who deliver disease education and case management to patients over the phone.

Additionally, these partnerships will enable CVS Health to increase the number of internships and scholarships that the company extends to multicultural candidates.
"At CVS Health, we recognize the strong connection between a culturally diverse nursing workforce and the ability to provide quality, culturally competent patient care," said David Casey, Vice President, Workforce Strategies, and Chief Diversity Officer at CVS Health. "We value the multicultural communities, customers and patients we serve and we look forward to working closely with NBNA and NAHN, as we continue to help bridge the current nursing shortage in the United States and enhance access to quality care to underserved populations."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be more than one million open positions for registered nurses across the country by 2022. Moreover, while U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that ethnic minority groups account for 37 percent of the U.S. population, industry research shows that nurses from minority backgrounds represent only 19 percent of the RN workforce, with African-American and Hispanic nurses representing 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

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