HHS Announces $13.4 Million in Financial Assistance to Support Nurses
HHS Deputy Secretary Bill Corr today announced the release of $13.4 million
for loan repayments to nurses who agree to practice in facilities with critical
shortages and for schools of nursing to provide loans to students who will
become nurse faculty. The funds were made available by the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed Feb. 17, 2009, by President Obama.
“The need for more nurses is great. Over the next decade, nurse retirements
and an aging U.S. population, among other factors, will create the need for
hundreds of thousands of new nurses,” Deputy Secretary Corr said. “The awards
from these two HRSA programs will help us meet projected demand for their
services.”
The awards come from two programs administered by HHS’ Health Resources and
Services Administration (HRSA): the Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program and
the Nurse Faculty Loan Program.
Funding announced today under the Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program
(NELRP) totals $8.1 million. Those funds, awarded competitively, will help 100
registered nurses pay their nursing education debts. The program repays 60
percent of the loan balance of registered nurses in exchange for two years of
service at facilities with a critical shortage of nurses. (For a list of
facilities employing the first 100 NELRP award winners from ARRA funds, go to http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2009/nelrprecips.htm)
Participants may be eligible to work a third year and receive additional
repayment assistance.
Funds announced today under the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) total $5.3
million. Those funds go to schools of nursing to support the training of 500
masters and doctoral nursing students who plan to become nurse faculty after
completing their education. Following graduation, loan recipients may cancel up
to 85 percent of the loan principal and interest in exchange for four years of
service as a full-time nursing faculty at a school of nursing. (For a list of
universities that received NFLP funds, go to http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2009/nflp_arra.htm)
Approximately 50,000 individuals interested in going to nursing school are
turned away due to insufficient capacity at schools of nursing. The two main
factors limiting the ability to train more nurses are a faculty shortage and
insufficient clinical training sites.
For additional information about
the Loan Repayment Program and other Recovery Act programs for health care
professionals, see http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/recovery/.
The Health Resources and Services Administration is part of the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA is the primary federal agency
responsible for improving access to health care services for people who are
uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA
and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are
available at
http://www.hhs.gov/news.
Last revised: August 12, 2009
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