ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Wes Moore has announced that nine Maryland nursing programs will receive $5.8 million to help address the state’s nursing shortage. The FY24 Competitive Institutional Grant funding includes one-year resource grants, multi-year implementation grants, and planning grants to get more students out of the classroom and into the workforce.

“This funding will create positive and lasting change in the way we educate both our nursing students and faculty, while also addressing the nursing shortage in Maryland,” said Gov. Moore. “The grants allow for new and innovative ideas that will continue to develop and expand health care opportunities in Maryland, which will positively impact our workforce and the state’s economy.”

During the FY24 application process, the Maryland Higher Education Commission’s Nurse Support Program II application process considered innovative opportunities to integrate proven statewide programs and develop strategic partnerships. The final outcomes of this year’s awards emphasized how the proposal supported both national and state initiatives, including:

• Planning for a PhD in Nursing Education Program at the oldest HBCU in Maryland to increase the number of PhD-prepared nursing faculty teaching in Maryland;
• Building a sustainable nurse-managed health center to increase quality clinical opportunities for registered nurses and nurse practitioner students in the state;
• Increasing enrollment in existing nursing programs and establishing new nursing programs to produce 364 additional nursing graduates;
• Developing a certificate program in Real-World Data & Pragmatic Research, as well as enhance an existing Nurse Educator Certificate program;
• Assisting a university nursing program with resources (e.g., exam software, testing) to prepare pre-licensure and nurse practitioner program students; and
• Continuing to support the successful Lead Nursing Forward program with resources for website expansion.

The nine-member review panel recommended funding for six universities and three community colleges:

• Bowie State University
• Cecil College
• Community College of Baltimore County
• Frostburg State University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Notre Dame of Maryland University
• Prince George’s Community College
• Salisbury University
• University of Maryland, Baltimore

“This joint effort between the Maryland Higher Education Commission, the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, and the higher education institutions in Maryland is changing the way we approach the education to workforce pipeline,” said Maryland Higher Education Commission Acting Secretary Dr. Sanjay Rai. “The ideas submitted will not only increase enrollment and establish accelerated nursing programs, but will also create new programs to educate geographically underserved nursing students in western Maryland.”

Additional information is available online at nursesupport.org.

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