August 11, 2023 – HHS is investing more than $100 million to train more nurses and address the rising demand for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, certified midwives and nurse faculty.
Specifically, the investment will go towards helping licensed practical nurses become registered nurses; training nurses who will provide primary care, maternal care and mental healthcare; and addressing the bottlenecks in nurse training by supporting more nurse faculty.
“Nurses are an essential part of our nation’s healthcare system,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in an Aug. 10 news release. “Now more than ever, we need to double down on our investments in nurses who care for communities across the country.”
Here are the key areas the investment will prioritize:
- Helping Licensed Practical Nurses to become Registered Nurses: $8.7 million for the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention-Pathway to Registered Nurse Program which trains licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses to become registered nurses.
- Training Nurses Who Will Deliver Primary Care, Mental Health Care, and Maternal Health Care:
- $34.8 million through the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce Program to increase the number of primary care nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives trained and prepared to provide primary care services, mental health and substance use disorder care, and/or maternal health care.
- $30 million through the Advanced Nursing Education-Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Program, to support comprehensive residency and fellowship training programs to increase the number of trained advanced practice nurses in primary care.
- Addressing the Bottlenecks in Nurse Training by Supporting More Nurse Faculty: $26.5 million through the Nurse Faculty Loan Program for award recipient schools to provide low-interest loans and loan cancellation to incentivize careers as nursing school faculty.