In the late 1980s, Carolinas HealthCare System administration
recognized the need for a school and established the CMHA School of Nursing. A feasibility study was
conducted in 1989 to validate the need for nurses at the local and statewide level. Degree granting authority was obtained through the Hospital Authority Act
[NC General Stat 113E-23 (a)(31)] and was delegated to the school by the Board of Commissioners.
The application to establish a nursing program was submitted to the North Carolina Board of Nursing in 1990. Initial approval status was granted
in May 1990 with the first students admitted in the fall of that year. Full approval status was granted by the North Carolina Board of Nursing, and the first class
graduated in 1992.
In December 1993, CMHA's Board of Commissioners passed a resolution to incorporate the CMHA School of Nursing and to appoint a board of
directors for the school. Degree granting authority was delegated to the board of directors. The school was located on Blythe Boulevard on the Carolinas Medical Center
campus in metropolitan Charlotte, NC. The school moved into the newly renovated Rankin Education Center in July 1994.
In July 1996, the board of directors approved the school to do business as Carolinas College of Health Sciences and to begin
preparation to educate other healthcare providers. The existing Schools of Radiologic Technology and Surgical Technology joined Carolinas College of Health Sciences in August 1996, and the School of
Medical Technology joined in January 1997. Previously, these programs were hospital-based programs at Carolinas Medical Center with uninterrupted histories
extending as far back as the 1940s. The School of Surgical Technology operated from 1958 to 1980 and reopened in 1992. In 1999, the first students were admitted to the Nurse Aide I and Phlebotomy Programs and in 2003 the School of Emergency Medical Sciences was added. Nurse Aide II was offered for the first time in 2006.
Effective 1995, Carolinas College of Health Sciences was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to offer the associate degree. That regional
accreditation was reaffirmed in 2000 for a period of up to 10 years. In May 2000, the North Carolina Board of Nursing granted continuing full approval status.
