Summary

Creates a federal grant program that gives $1 billion (available until spent) to nursing schools to grow the number of students and faculty, modernize training (including simulation and telehealth), and strengthen preparedness for public health emergencies and pandemics. Grants must prioritize schools serving medically underserved areas, health professional shortage areas, certain institutions under the Higher Education Act, and programs serving rural and noncontiguous States/territories. Grantees can use funds for enrollment and retention supports (with emphasis on disadvantaged and underrepresented students, including first-generation students), faculty hiring and retention, clinical education partnerships, curriculum and infrastructure modernization, and nurse-led research and interprofessional partnerships. Recipients must file annual reports and the HHS Secretary must deliver a public summary to Congress within five years.

Key Points

• Creates a HRSA grant program to increase nursing faculty and student capacity and improve pandemic/emergency preparedness.
• Authorizes $1,000,000,000 for the program, available until expended.
• Prioritizes schools serving medically underserved areas, health professional shortage areas, certain HEA-listed institutions, rural areas, and noncontiguous States/territories.
• Funds may be used for enrollment/retention supports, faculty hiring/retention, clinical partnerships, simulation/telehealth, curriculum modernization, and nurse researcher development.
• Gives priority to disadvantaged and underrepresented students, including first-generation college students, and to underrepresented faculty.
• Requires annual reports from grantees and a publicly available five-year report from the Secretary to Congress with deidentified/disaggregated outcome data.
• Includes a purely technical change removing a part heading without changing substantive law or funding.

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