2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
Congress Passes Spending Bill with
Increase for Nurse Workforce Funding
On Tuesday evening the 10th of March, the Senate passed an omnibus spending measure for Fiscal Year 2009, (H.R. 1105). The House bill contained a $15 million increase for Title VIII nursing workforce development programs, bringing the proposed 2009 total to $171 million. The measure will now go to the White House where President Obama is expected to sign it.
ANA would like to thank the many nurses who contacted their elected representatives and urged them to support this bill, with increased funding for nursing workforce development.
Background
The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) are the primary source of Federal funding for nursing education. The major grant programs areas are:
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Advanced Education Nursing—Provides grants to nursing schools, academic health centers, and other entities to enhance education and practice for nurses in master’s and post-master’s programs. These programs prepare nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists, nurse educators, nurse administrators, and public health nurses.
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Workforce Diversity Grants—Provides grants to increase opportunities for individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds, including students from economically disadvantaged families as well as racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented in the nursing profession.
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Nurse Education, Practice, and Retention Grants—Supports schools and nurses at the associate and baccalaureate degree level. Grants are provided to schools of nursing, academic health centers, nursing centers, state and local governments and other public or private nonprofit entities. Some grants (such as grants promoting the Magnet Hospital best practices for nursing administration) are also available to healthcare facilities.
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National Nurse Service Corps—The Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program repays 60 to 85 percent of nursing student loans in return for at least two years of practice in a facility designated to have a critical shortage of nurses. The Nursing Scholarship Program supports students enrolled in nursing school. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients are required to work full-time for at least two years in a facility designated to have a critical shortage of nurses.
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Nurse Faculty Loan Program—Establishes loan programs within schools of nursing to support students pursuing masters and doctoral degrees. Upon graduation, loan recipients are required to teach at a school of nursing in exchange for cancellation of up to 85 percent of their educational loans, plus interest, over four years.
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Comprehensive Geriatric Education Grants—Provides grants to train nurses who provide direct care for the elderly, to support geriatric nursing curriculum, to train faculty in geriatrics, and to provide continuing education to nurses who provide geriatric care.