By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE new nursing program a California-based investor is proposing to bring to the CNMI through Emmanuel College will help diversify the islands’ tourism market base, according to Sedy Demesa in an e-mail to Variety,
Demesa is vice president of Pleasant Care Corp., which owns the second-largest nursing home chain in California and is one of the partners of the new college.
Emmanuel’s application to establish a private higher learning institution here is now with the CNMI’s State Board of Regents.
Earlier this month, Demesa presented her investment plans, including the establishment of Emmanuel College, to CNMI legislators and administration officials led by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
Demesa said the commonwealth, through her college, can provide an American education to foreign students.
She said they also want to make their nursing program more accessible to local residents interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, which has now become the most in-demand profession in the U.S. and across the globe.
“The Northern Marianas is so close to Asia, which is home to a huge number of students who want to study in the U.S. but cannot because of the high costs associated with going to and living on the mainland and attending school there. Plus, it isn’t really that easy to secure a U.S. student visa these days,” Demesa said in her e-mail.
She said the commonwealth can allow foreigners to obtain an American education even without a U.S. entry visa. The CNMI, in turn, benefits from the business opportunities that will be created by the presence of international students here.
“In particular, Emmanuel College, which seeks to enroll students from Asia, particularly Korea, China, and the Philippines, offers bright prospects in stirring the commonwealth’s economy by diversifying the CNMI’s tourism market base to include international students,” Demesa said.
But she said priority for enrollment in Emmanuel College, particularly its licensed vocational/practical nursing program, will be given to local students.
The college, she added, will establish a scholarship program for deserving, indigenous students.
Emmanuel intends to graduate at least 30 nurses per term.
The licensed vocational nursing program can be completed in less than 12 months after which a graduate can take the state or national licensure examination.
A licensed vocational nurse who may also be called a licensed practical nurse can work in a hospital, long-term care facility, convalescent home, doctor’s office or surgical center, providing many of the same services performed by registered nurses.
According to Demesa, “LVNs can specialize in a field of medicine that is most interesting to them. LVNs are in very high demand in long-term care facilities or nursing homes, and frequently are paid more for taking these positions. So those who specialize in geriatrics find employment easily.”
She said graduates of Emmanuel College’s LVN program may either obtain employment immediately after passing the NCLEX or pursue their RN degree at Northern Marianas College — or both.
Emmanuel College is a sister school of Stockton, California-based Xavier College and has a “strong partnership with Pleasant Care — one of the West Coast’s biggest employers of healthcare professionals — and other U.S.-based companies engaged in various activities such as real estate, construction, staffing and others.”
“With these partnerships Emmanuel College guarantees employment in the U.S. to its nursing graduates upon compliance with existing federal immigration rules and regulations,” Demesa added.