This bill creates a Nurse Faculty Demonstration Program. The Secretary may make grants to accredited schools of nursing to supplement salaries for eligible nursing faculty. Grants may pay the difference between the average local salary for nurses in clinical practice and the faculty member's salary (or the school’s average faculty salary for similar credentials), for up to 3 years per eligible faculty member. Schools must apply and provide salary history or local nurse salary information, recent faculty salary data, current and projected faculty vacancies, and a plan for sustaining salaries after the grant ends. Grants must be used entirely to supplement the eligible faculty member's salary and require the school to keep that faculty member's salary at or above the grant-supported level while receiving the award. The Secretary must ensure equitable geographic distribution and give priority to schools with the greatest need, to those serving vulnerable patient populations, and to recruitment of faculty from underrepresented populations. The Secretary must report to Congressional committees within 3 years evaluating the program. The bill authorizes $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to carry out this subsection.
The bill’s stated purpose is to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty by supplementing salaries to improve recruitment and retention.
No publicly available information.