Bradford Co. Schools team with SF to offer nursing students ASN degree in their own backyard

August 20, 2026

“We’re not just here to cut a ribbon and walk into a nice building,” Dr. Paul Broadie II, Santa Fe College (SF) president, told a group gathered at the North Florida Technical College (NFTC) in Starke on Wednesday, Aug. 19, to officially open an education space for local students wanting to obtain an associate’s degree in nursing. “This is about making dreams come true — taking an individual with the dream of being a Registered Nurse and making it a reality.”

Partnering with Bradford County School District, SF helped realize a longstanding plan to renovate a portion of NFTC to give local students access to an Associate of Science in Nursing degree that would follow their Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) certification.

Broadie said he got excited at the proposal for this collaboration between Bradford County Schools and SF for three reasons: opportunity for partnership, student success, and community impact. “Santa Fe is Bradford County,” he said.

The seed money for the collaboration — the first in Florida where a tech college partnered with a state college — was provided by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Commerce.

The reimagined portion of the NFTC building features a study lounge, a traditional classroom equipped with media screens, and a clinical training area with several hospital beds that will provide the same high-level diagnostic and simulation tools found on the SF Northwest Campus.

“The timing was just right,” William Hartley, superintendent of Bradford County School District, said. “About the same time we had conversations about bringing another nursing program to Starke, I walked into a class in our middle school where they were doing an assignment about what they wanted to do when they grow up. More than half of the class wanted to work in healthcare. The need is here — and now we’ve made it happen. When I see the transformation and see everything that’s going to happen in here, the possibilities for future partnership between Bradford County and Santa Fe College are endless.” 

Santa Fe College Trustee Jeff Oody is heavily invested in his community of Starke through organizations like the Bradford County Education Foundation. He told the gathering, “We’re giving an opportunity to men and women who want to go into the nursing field in Bradford County, and hopefully they will keep those skills in the county. Anyone who’s been a patient will tell you, doctors are important; but the most impactful interaction they have is with the nurses who are there to hold your hand and take care of you.”

With the growing need for qualified healthcare professionals to serve a growing population in the rural communities of Florida, Gabe Bullaro, CEO for HCA of North Florida, confirmed the demand for these graduates, and the opportunity for them to fill those positions.

“When I got here just a year ago, we had 250 open nursing positions, now it’s down to 150,” Bullaro explained. “But Dr. Broadie and I are going to keep chiseling that number down. Neither of us are done.”

Dr. Tracy Ison, chair of Nursing Programs at SF, said “This program represents much more than classrooms, labs and books — it represents hope, opportunity, and access, which has been limited for many students for too long. Rural communities like Starke have faced challenges in recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals. Distance and limited resources made it impossible to even dream of being a Registered Nurse. But today, we’re taking a very important step in changing that story.” 

On hand to speak about the impact of this new program was Crystal Cole, an LPN graduate of NFTC in 2010 who began the new degree track this week as a member of Cohort No. 1. Cole had served her Bradford County community for 16 years in the nursing profession, “but becoming an RN was always the dream.” As a young LPN with kids, she said she was ready to get to work, but being a registered nurse was the ultimate goal.

“As a mom who was also working full-time, with the nearest RN program being an hour away, the opportunity seemed unlikely,” Cole said. “This program in Bradford County will allow me to advance into the next stage of my career and my service to my community.”

Find more information on Santa Fe College’s Nursing Bridge LPN, A.S. program here.