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HRSA Nursing Loan Repayment Program Gets an Infusion of Funding
With only so much financial aid and scholarship money to go around, many financially needy minority students have no choice but to take out loans to help them complete their nursing education, saddling them with a burden of debt that may take years to repay. Loan forgiveness programs, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP), which pay back student loans in exchange for a commitment to work in an underserved area for a specific period of time, are a win-win solution that not only benefits nursing graduates but also minority communities that are feeling the pinch of the nursing shortage.
More than 400 nurses are now working in critically underserved areas as participants in NELRP. The program received a hefty $7.3 million in new funding in 2001, including an extra $5 million that Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson transferred to HRSA last summer to specifically address the national nursing shortage. President Bush’s 2003 budget is expected to allocate a total of $15 million—a 50% increase over last year’s funding—to further expand NELRP. This increase is intended to support 800 new nursing education loan agreements.
NELRP participants must enter into a contractual agreement to provide two years of full-time clinical care at an eligible facility in an underserved community with a significant nursing shortage, such as Indian Health Service Health Centers, Native Hawaiian Health Centers, public hospitals and Migrant Health Centers. In return, NELRP will pay 60% of the nurse’s total qualifying educational loan balances (up to $30,000), subject to availability of program funds. You may qualify for an additional 25% repayment if you sign on for a third year. In other words, participants can effectively pay off 85% of their original educational loan balance within three years.
This year’s applications for the NELRP program, which is open to all RNs, will be available in April on HRSA’s Web site, www.hrsa.gov. The application deadline is expected to be June 14, 2002. For more information, contact HRSA at (800) 435-6464 or visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/programs/NELRProgramInfo.HTM.
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TITLE: Hispanic Nurses: Transforming Policy to Support Healthy Communities for Hispanics ORGANIZATION: 35th Annual National Association Of Hispanic Nurses ConferenceEMPLOYER
NAME: University of Washington Medical Center LOCATION: Seattle, WA DESCRIPTION:Located in Seattle, University of Washington Medical Center provides comprehensive primary care services and serves as a regional referral and treatment center for specialized medical care. Recognized as the first Magnet* hospital in the U.S., our commitment to nursing excellence has been honored for an unprecedented fourth consecutive time — the only hospital in the world to achieve this — and serves as a testament to our dedication to our staff.
READ MORE READ ALLSCHOLARSHIP
SCHOLARSHIP: National American Arab Nurses Association OFFERED BY: NAANA Scholarships DESCRIPTION:Offers various scholarships for current nursing students, practicing nurses, and students interested in pursuing a career in nursing.
Phone: (313) 982-4070
Web site: https://n-aana.org/scholarship/index.asp
Deadline: July 1, but may vary from year to year
Amount: Unspecified
