PA Governor Rendell Announces Nearly $750,000 Investment in Nurse Education

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

pa governor rendell announces nearly $750,000 investment in nurse education

leverages $870,000 in private funds, reaches 26 counties

lancaster, pa., sept. 15 /prnewswire-usnewswire/ --residents in 26 counties interested in pursuing careers in nursing will benefit from educational opportunities funded by $1.6 million in state and private sector investments, governor edward g. rendell said today.

"like many states, pennsylvania faces a crisis in the health care industry," governor rendell said. "as our population ages, we need more nurses to provide the care our citizens need and deserve. we must take steps now to ensure that nurse-education programs have the facilities and faculty they need to train the future nursing workforce that the health care industry and our commonwealth's citizens will most certainly require."

"by expanding class sizes and hiring additional nurse education faculty, we can enroll and train more nurses and grow the workforce," said department of labor & industry acting secretary sandi vito, who announced the state investment of $750,000 that will leverage at least $870,000 in private-sector matching funds at a press conference at the lancaster general college of nursing & health sciences. "part of meeting pennsylvania's health care needs is making sure that prospective nursing students have room to enroll in courses and pursue the degrees that lead to their intended career."...

since governor rendell took office, graduates from pennsylvania's nursing programs have more than doubled. registered nurse graduates increased to 5,937 in 2006 from 2,939 in 2003; licensed practical nurse graduates increased to 2,347 from 1,236....

a list of school grant recipients posted end of article.

please tell governor rendell how not funding the pheaa - nursing loan forgiveness for healthier futures has adversly affected your ability become a nurse.

[color=#003399]e-mail the governor's office

karen