[NRSKarenRN]

From PA Nurses newsletter:

Governor Unveils $7 Million Investment to Continue Helping Nurses
Nurse Graduates Up 128 Percent Since 2003

Governor Edward G. Rendell unveiled two workforce development initiatives that will increase the number of nurse educators and expand clinical education opportunities for the growing student nurse population.

" Pennsylvania , like much of the nation, is facing a nursing shortage," Governor Rendell said. "But in the commonwealth, and since I took office nearly four years ago, the number of registered nurse graduates has increased by 128 percent and licensed practical nurse graduates have risen 126 percent. "We are making an additional $7 million in state funding available to health care providers and nursing education providers to ensure that we can continue to meet the demand for the highly skilled health care workers Pennsylvanians deserve. These two programs will complement Pennsylvania 's existing nursing education initiatives."

The $4 million "Loaned Faculty" initiative provides funding so health care employers and nursing education providers can loan qualified teachers to nursing schools experiencing faculty shortages. The "Clinical Education" expansion initiative provides $3 million in grants to help nursing schools and health care providers expand clinical education opportunities for the growing number of nursing students in the state.

Guidelines and applications for the Loaned Faculty and Clinical Education grants are available online at http://www.paworkforce.state.pa.us under the "Governor Rendell's Strategyfor Building a Skilled Workforce" quick link. Statistics on RN and LPN graduation rates are also available on this Web site.


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Docs get good news too
From Physicians News Digest:
November 3, 2006

Gov. Ed Rendell sent letters to the state's medical students, residents and fellows, touting improving conditions for doctors.

Rendell’s letter points out that medical malpractice lawsuits dropped substantially since the state passed a package of reforms in 2002, while payouts from the MCARE Fund have declined from $341 million in 2000 to $232 million last year, reported the Patriot-News. Rendell also notes that the state has spent $830 million since 2003 to help doctors pay medical malpractice insurance premiums, and that the number of doctors in the state has remained steady for several years – with about 35,000 physicians accepting the insurance subsidy, the Patriot-News noted. The Pennsylvania Medical Society said doctors in the state continue to struggle with high malpractice insurance premiums and low reimbursements from providers of health insurance, noting that only about eight percent of doctors who completed residencies chose to continue working in Pa. in 2004 – down from about 50 percent in 1994, the Patriot-News added.
Patriot-News, November 2, 2006
Read on...