House Approves Funding For MTSU Health Programs
November 7, 2007, WASHINGTON – On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure that will enable Middle Tennessee State University to make improvements to its School of Nursing and work to combat obesity in children and teens, announced U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon.
The funding is included in a compromise of House and Senate versions of an annual funding bill for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Senate is expected to approve the conference report later this week, and it will then go to the president for his signature.
The conference report included $250,000 for MTSU’s School of Nursing. The funds will be used for equipment to enhance the education of nursing students.
“The students and faculty at MTSU are among the best in the country,” said Gordon. “We have a shortage of nurses in Tennessee and across the country, and MTSU has a nursing school that can graduate talented professionals to address that shortage.”
The Department of Health and Human Services predicts the United States will face a shortage of more than 1 million nurses by 2020.
“There is no substitute for hands-on learning,” said Joe Bales, MTSU’s vice president for development and university relations. “With this funding, we can furnish labs with equipment that will greatly enhance the learning experience for our nursing students and further prepare them for their careers.”
The conference report also includes $350,000 for the university to establish a Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth, which will work to combat childhood obesity.
“As childhood obesity has become more prevalent, it has also received more attention because of the health problems associated with it,” said Gordon. “Overweight children are more likely to develop high cholesterol, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. It’s time to curb this trend rather than watch it escalate further.”
The center would help to enhance understanding of childhood obesity, encourage physical activity among youth and advocate healthy lifestyles. The center would work with schools and community agencies and operate through MTSU’s Health and Human Performance Department.
“The center will partner with the Middle Tennessee community to tackle childhood obesity across many disciplines,” said Bales. “The statistics show that this is a serious national health problem, but it’s one that MTSU can help to address here in Tennessee.”
