2002.06.04: HHS Awards $30 Million to Address Emerging Nurse Shortage

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 4, 2002

Contact:

HRSA Press Office
(301) 443-3376

HHS AWARDS $30 MILLION TO ADDRESS EMERGING NURSE SHORTAGE

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced a series of grants totaling more than $30 million to increase the number of qualified nurses and the quality of nursing services across the country. The awards will help to ease the shortage of nurses available to provide essential health care services across the country.

"If more people don't choose careers in nursing, it will become more and more difficult for patients to get quality health care," Secretary Thompson said. "Today's awards will make it easier for many bright students to pursue a rewarding career in nursing, where they can improve the lives of Americans, one patient at a time."

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will award grants totaling more than $22 million to colleges, universities and other organizations to increase the number of nurses with advanced degrees and to help improve the quality of care for elderly patients.

In addition, another $8 million will be designated to repay educational loans of clinical care nurses who agree to work for two or three years in designated public or nonprofit health facilities facing a critical shortage of nurses. HRSA estimates more than 400 new contracts will be made under the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program. Applications are due on June 14. Details are available at www.bphc.hrsa.gov/programs/NELRProgramInfo.htm or by calling 1-866-813-3753.

The $22 million in grants include:

324 Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship grants, totaling more than $18.5 million, which support registered nurses in graduate programs who are studying to become nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse-midwives, nurse anesthetists, nurse educators, nurse administrators and public health nurses. A list of grantees is available at bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants2002/awards02/nrsaetraward.htm.
71 Advanced Education Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship grants, totaling more than $3 million, which support registered nurses enrolled full-time in a master's nurse anesthesia program.
Nine Geriatric Nursing Knowledge and Experiences in Long Term Care Facilities grants, totaling nearly $225,000, which help schools of nursing provide hands-on clinical training for senior nursing students caring for elderly individuals.
Three Nurse Faculty Development in Geriatrics grants, totaling nearly $760,000, which help nursing schools, nursing centers, academic health centers, and state or local governments develop effective geriatric nursing education programs.

"A shortage of nurses threatens the quality of health care in communities across America. As the nation grows older -- and the Census Bureau estimates that 40 million Americans will be over age 65 in 2010, 5 million more than currently -- so, too, does the nursing workforce," said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth James Duke, Ph.D. "Nurses are growing older and leaving the profession, but today's entrants are too few to replace them and to meet the growing demand. These grants will go a long way toward ensuring that the nursing work force keeps pace with America's changing health care needs."

Early in his tenure, Secretary Thompson identified the nursing shortage as a critical national priority. Studies have shown that the demand for nursing services is growing faster than the number of trained nurses, placing an increasing strain on the nation's health care system. In February, HHS launched a new campaign to encourage schoolchildren to consider careers in nursing and other health professions.

President Bush's fiscal year 2003 budget proposes a total of $15 million, nearly a 50 percent increase above the current year's funding, to expand the Nursing Education Loan Repayment program to help address the nation's growing need for nursing professionals. The increase will support 800 new nursing education loan repayment agreements.

The lists of grant recipients are available at newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2002releases/nursegrants.htm.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.