healthcare worker interview

The Department of Health and Human Services will aid state-run programs that support, recruit and retain healthcare workers in underserved communities by making $100 million in American Rescue Plan funding available for state loan repayment programs, HHS announced Thursday.

The program is focused on primary care, although the disciplines, practice sites, length of required service commitment and the award amount for each state’s loan repayment program vary by state/territory, according to HHS. But the news is welcome to many, as the healthcare industry lost approximately 17,500 jobs in September alone, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nursing and residential care facilities lost 38,000 jobs in September.

“Our healthcare workers have worked tirelessly to save lives throughout this pandemic and now it’s our turn to invest in them,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “This investment is critical to ensuring state public health officials can continue supporting specific needs across their communities.”

The funding represents a five-fold increase to the Health Resources and Services Administration’s State Loan Repayment Program and will help improve health equity by ensuring that clinicians working in high-need communities remain in them, according to HHS.

The Health Resources and Services Administration will distribute the funds to all 50 states. HRSA estimates that it will make up to 50 awards of up to $1 million per year over the program’s four-year project period. States will not be required to demonstrate a specific matching amount for the federal funding, and they will be able to use up to 10% of their award for administrative costs to ensure they have the capacity to administer these programs, especially those new to the grant program.

“With these funds, states can design programs that optimize the selection of disciplines and service locations, and tailor the length of service commitments to address the areas of greatest need in their communities,” Acting HRSA Administrator Diana Espinosa said.

Meanwhile, long-term care facilities and other providers across the country are experiencing challenges in recruiting and retaining frontline workers, but the American Association of Colleges of Nursing optimistically reported that student enrollment is up despite the pandemic. Nationally, enrollment in bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree nursing programs increased 5.6% in 2020 from the year before to just more than 250,000 students, according to AACN’s survey findings, gathered from 956 of the 1,035 nursing schools in the United States (a 92.4% response rate) with baccalaureate and/or graduate programs. 

“With the pandemic ushering in a period of unprecedented change and innovation in higher education, schools of nursing moved decisively to adapt their programs to ensure a steady supply of nurses needed to join the fight against COVID-19,” said Susan Bakewell-Sachs, Ph.D., RN, chair of the AACN board of directors.