The Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition (SNAC) is a community coalition of health care employers, academics/nursing programs, and community members who share the goals of the Institute of Medicine’s (now known as the National Academy of Medicine) Future of Nursing report. As a coalition, SNAC is focused on the four counties of Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota. The specific challenges initially addressed for these counties were the lack of local nursing programs to provide BSN and higher educational programs.
SNAC has developed a Community Advocacy Program to educate and inform legislators, policymakers and the public about the unprecedented need in our area for qualified, well-educated registered nurses and to share strategies that are critical to addressing Florida’s nursing crisis.
Additionally, the success of SNAC is directly related to the involvement of other community entities who support the mission and vision of this coalition. These primarily include the Patterson Foundation, the Community Foundation of Sarasota, and the Manatee Community Foundation.