COVID-19 was wreaking havoc again in late December and state health officials were worried. The Omicron variant was causing some of the highest case levels since the start of the pandemic, hospital beds were filling up and nurses and other health care workers were getting sick or quarantining because of exposure.

New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, worried about another COVID surge, asked Rutgers and other New Jersey colleges and universities with health sciences programs if they could help tackle the crisis.

“I had an idea, but didn’t know if it would work,” said Susan Salmond, executive vice dean at Rutgers School of Nursing; her idea: The Student Nurse Reserve Corps.