HRSA Grants $100M to Improve Nursing Workforce as Shortages Persist

The Biden-Harris Administration is funneling over $100 million into the nursing workforce to help meet the growing demand for nurses amid staffing shortages.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grants will go toward programs that address nursing education, training, and practice.

“Nurses are the frontline in delivering life-saving care and in keeping all of us healthy and well,” HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson said in the announcement. “Today’s investments from the Health Resources and Services Administration demonstrate our ongoing commitment to supporting the nursing workforce, training and growing the next generation of nurses, creating career ladders for nurses, and recognizing the critical role nurses play in primary care, mental healthcare, and maternal healthcare.”

The Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention-Pathway to Registered Nurse Program was awarded $8.7 million. The program trains licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses to become registered nurses.

Almost $65 million will go toward training nurses who provide primary care, mental healthcare, and maternal healthcare.

The Advanced Nursing Education Workforce program will receive $34.8 million to boost the number of primary care nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives trained to deliver primary care services, mental health and substance use disorder care, and maternal healthcare.

The Advanced Nursing Education-Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Program was awarded $30 million to support comprehensive residency and fellowship training programs and increase the number of trained advanced practice nurses in primary care.

The investments also aim to increase the number of future nurses, with $26.5 million going to the Nurse Faculty Loan Program. This program offers low-interest loans for individuals studying to be nurse faculty and loan cancellation for those who go on to work as faculty.

The grants will help address the growing demand for nurses as staffing shortages persist. An AMN Healthcare survey revealed that just 61 percent of nurses plan to continue working for their current employer a year from now, down five percentage points from 2021.  

The coronavirus has led to a change of heart in many nurses, with three in ten nurses reporting that they will likely leave nursing altogether due to the pandemic.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) projected that the nursing workforce will lose 900,000 workers by 2027 without action from policymakers and healthcare systems.

Some medical groups have tried to prevent shortages by increasing compensation and bonuses for nurses. The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) found that compensation grew by 10.59 percent and 18.70 percent for certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses between 2021 and 2022. Hourly rates for clinical and nursing staff also rose during that time.