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AACN
Applauds Funding Increase for Nursing Education
in the President’s FY 2005 Budget Proposal
Funding
Still Not Adequate to Resolve the Shortage of Nurses and Educators
WASHINGTON, DC, February 4, 2004 - Today,
the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) announced
its support for the $147 million in funding for nursing education
programs included in President Bush’s FY 2005 budget
proposal. In this tough fiscal year, the President proposed
a $5 million increase for nursing education, specifically
for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program.
Though pleased to see this increase in a Nursing Workforce
Development program (Title VIII of the Public Health Service
Act), AACN is concerned that funding levels are still inadequate
to meet the nation’s growing demand for nurses. Further,
AACN is worried that proposed cuts to other health professions
programs (Title VII) will limit access to health care for
underserved populations.
“Given
the difficult financial projections, we are pleased to see
new funding for nursing education,” said AACN President
Kathleen Ann Long, PhD, APRN, FAAN. “The proposed funding
increase will enable hundreds of new nurses to enter the profession,
allow practicing nurses to advance their education, and help
to replenish the shrinking pool of nurse educators. We applaud
the President’s support for addressing the nursing shortage
and are grateful to have been spared the deep cuts proposed
for other programs.”
Even with the proposed increase, AACN is concerned that funding
levels for nursing education are inadequate given the growing
demand for nursing care and the diminishing number of educators
needed to prepare future nurses. “Significantly more
federal funding is needed to develop the nursing workforce
and address the projected shortfall of 800,000 registered
nurses by the year 2020,” added Dr. Long. “Given
the dire need for educators to prepare nurses at all levels,
legislators must make funding graduate level nursing education
a top priority.” According to AACN data, more than 11,000
qualified students were turned away from nursing schools last
year due primarily to insufficient numbers of faculty needed
to expand student capacity.
AACN was pleased to see a $4 million increase for the National
Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and an additional $2
million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ). “Support for NINR and AHRQ translates into support
for quality health care and improved patient safety,”
added Dr. Long. The FY 2005 budget proposal also includes
an additional $35 million for the National Health Services
Corps which provides scholarships for health care providers
who agree to work in underserved rural and urban areas.
While funding for nursing education was maintained, the President
recommended severe cuts in programs that support the other
health professions, including medicine and allied health.
“AACN is saddened to see dramatic cuts to programs that
support the health care workforce and is concerned that this
action will diminish access to care and deny services to vulnerable
populations,” said Dr. Long.
Specific
funding levels for nursing education programs that were proposed
in the President’s FY 2005 budget are listed on AACN’s
Web site at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/FY2005Chart.pdf.
The American Association
of Colleges of Nursing is the national voice for university
and four-year-college education programs in nursing. Representing
more than 580 member schools of nursing at public and private
institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental
advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs
work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree
nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement
those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve
health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and
graduate nursing education, research, and practice. Web site:
http://www.aacn.nche.edu
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CONTACT: Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
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