Nursing, Geriatric Programs to Get $159 Million from HHS

Thousands of nurses and geriatric specialists—many of them minorities—will be trained for the provider workforce under $159.1 million in federal grants under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“We cannot build a healthier America if our country continues to face a growing health professions shortage,” says Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “A well-trained, educated and diverse workforce is critical to meeting future healthcare demands, and to reforming the nation’s healthcare system.”

The grants from HHS fall into three categories:

1. Nursing Workforce Development, $106 million, to train nurses as primary care providers and/or nursing faculty, 351 schools of nursing and individuals training to be nurses or nurse specialists, nurse anesthetist programs, 108 programs to promote career development and nurse retention, improve opportunities for minorities who want to be nurses and nine programs to expand health information technology in nurse training schools.


2. Interdisciplinary Geriatric Education and Training, $29.5 million, will fund three geriatric education and training programs at accredited health professions schools.

3.Centers for Excellence, $23.6 million, to support Centers of Excellence programs to improve recruitment and performance of underrepresented minority students preparing for health professions careers.