FRANKLIN—The Hampton Roads Community Foundation has awarded Paul D. Camp Community College grants of $189,186 to launch a practical nursing program and for one year of planning for a GED program.

Anonymous donors provided the grants.

“By launching a practical nursing program, the college will be able to fill a gap in educational and employment opportunities in our region,” said PDCCC Nursing and Allied Health Program Head Dr. Candace Rogers.

“The employment of licensed practical nurses is expected to grow 22 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations,” Rogers added. “Yet in our region, there are fewer and fewer places to go to earn the practical nursing certificate.”

The Portsmouth Practical Nursing Program closed in 2011, and the Sentara Obici Hospital will graduate its last practical nursing class in February 2013 after the Suffolk School Board said it could no longer fund the program. The Obici program received 150 applications each year for a class of 20 to 25 students.

For the G.E.D. Attainment Program, PDCCC serves Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the cities of Franklin and Suffolk.

“For this new effort, we will work with the localities and others to assess gaps in need and then we’ll be able to press forward with a strategy that’s well-suited to the college and is well-coordinated with the community at large,” said PDCCC President Dr. Wm. Paul Conco.

As part of this grant, PDCCC will select an appropriate GED model to serve western Hampton Roads, coordinate with organizations that offer GED classes and identify times and locations to offer classes.