LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — As Southern Nevada grapples with a critical nursing shortage, a new group of graduates is moving quickly into hospital jobs across the Las Vegas Valley.

Galen College of Nursing recently celebrated its first-ever graduating class in Las Vegas, with 19 new nurses entering the workforce.

Of those graduates, 12 have already been hired at HCA Healthcare’s Sunrise Health System hospitals, including Southern Hills, Sunrise, and MountainView.

The milestone marks a growing local pipeline aimed at helping address the region’s nursing shortage in real time.

Nurses joining Sunrise Health System hospitals also took part in a special cord ceremony, receiving orange and blue cords and certificates representing the hospitals where they will begin their careers.