The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $96 million to increase diversity in the health professions workforce and encourage nurses to choose careers as nurse educators.
According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the funding includes $45.7 million in FY 2010 appropriations for 308 grants to 605 health professions programs at colleges and universities and $20.5 million in Recovery Act funds for 273 grants to 513 programs at colleges and universities.
The grants will go toward scholarships to help disadvantaged and minority students train to become nurses, Sebelius said, as well as for low-interest loans for nurse faculty students.
"The health professions workforce in the United States does not reflect the population it serves," Sebelius said. "These funds will help support the education of disadvantaged students who are more likely to go on to serve in underserved areas and will expand the training of nurse faculty in exchange for their service."
Of the total, $66 million will be used to provide scholarships to 28,000 disadvantaged students under the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program, according to Sebelius.
Health Resources and Services Administration Administrator Mary Wakefield said the new funds will increase training opportunities for a future generation of healthcare professionals.
Under the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, $30 million is awarded to 165 grantees to support nursing student loans for Masters and Doctoral degree nurses who will then become faculty at nursing schools across the country. In exchange for teaching at a nursing school, students are eligible for an 85 percent loan cancellation during their first four years of employment.