2009 Budget Includes Increase in Nursing Education Funding

Dear Colleagues:

We are so pleased to once again bring you good news. Last week, Congress gave final approval and President Obama signed into law legislation that provides a nearly 10 percent boost for nursing education funding in fiscal year 2009! And the legislation provides a 46 percent increase in funding for the Title VIII faculty loan repayment program to help reduce the nursing faculty shortage.

Overall, Title VIII nursing education programs will receive $171.031 million, an increase of $14.985 over FY 2008. This increase is on top of the $500 million in funding provided to address health workforce shortages in the economic stimulus legislation recently signed into law.

Here is the break down for increased funding contained in the omnibus bill:

• Faculty Loan Repayment Program:$11.5 million, up $3.64 million (46% increase)
• Advanced Education Nursing: $64.4 million, up $2.56 million (4.1% increase)
• Nurse Practice and Retention: $37.3 million, up $.65 million (1.7 % increase)
• Nursing Workforce Diversity: $16.1 million, up $.28 million (1.8 % increase)
• Loan Repayment and Scholarship: $30.5 million, up $37.13 million (21% increase)
• Geriatric Nursing Education: $4.6 million, up $1.23 million (37% increase)

This is one more step toward alleviating the looming shortage of nurses in this country. The Center to Champion Nursing in America applauds the efforts of our colleagues at AARP and the leadership of many national nursing organizations in advocating these increases.

We also want to highlight work being done by our state colleagues. North Carolina State Senator Purcell introduced the Retired Nurses Return to Work bill. This would permit retired nurses who are receiving a pension under the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System to return to work as nursing instructors without loss of retirement benefits. We will keep an eye on North Carolina in hopes of celebrating this win very soon!

Sincerely,

Brenda Cleary, PhD, RN, FAAN
Director
Center to Champion Nursing in America

Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN
Senior Vice President and Director
AARP Public Policy Institute
Chief Strategist
Center to Champion Nursing in America