Ohio to get $2.8 for healthcare workforce development

Twenty-four Ohio institutions are set to share $2.8 million in federal funds aimed at helping train health care workers (Source: “Ohio will receive $2.8 million to train health-care workers,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 6, 2010).

The grants are being awarded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"We cannot build a healthier America if our country continues to face a growing health professions shortage," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a written statement.

Nationally, $159.1 million is being distributed to programs that:

• Bolster nursing education and prepare faculty to train future nurses. Those programs will receive $106 million.
• Fund geriatric education and training programs. Those will receive $29.5 million.
• Work to improve recruitment and performance of minority students preparing for careers in health. Those total $23.6 million.

Late last year the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a report, the Future of the Nursing Workforce in Ohio (pdf, 24 pages), that examined ways in which the state can address an anticipated serious shortage of nurses by 2025.