On August 18 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the availability of $13.4 million to support loan repayments for nurses who agree to practice in facilities with critical shortages. The funds for these efforts were made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed by President Obama in February of this year.

These funds come from two programs under HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): the Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program and the Nurse Faculty Loan Program.

• $8.1 million will go to the Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP), which will help 100 registered nurses pay their debts accumulated during their nursing education. The program repays 60 percent of the loan balance for an individual in exchange for two years of service working in a facility with a critical shortage of nurses.
• $5.3 million goes to the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP), being awarded to schools of nursing to support 500 masters and doctoral nursing students planning to become nurse faculty after completing their schooling. Upon graduation, recipients may cancel up to 85 percent of the loan principal and interest in exchange for four years of service as a full-time nursing faculty at a school of nursing.

The program assisting with loan repayments for nurses practicing in facilities with critical shortages is similar to one pursued by Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley in June, called the Frontline Providers Loan Repayment Act. Braley’s bill sought loan repayment options for medical professionals working in areas that have a shortage of frontline care services.

For additional information about the Loan Repayment Program and other Recovery Act programs for health care professionals, see http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/recovery/

Several weeks ago IHA hosted a board meeting in our offices for the Iowa Organization of Nurse Leaders. While they were in the building, we talked with a few nurse leaders about why they love their work and what advice they had for others interested in the nursing profession.

Watch the video below to see what these leaders had to say

IONL members in the video included:

• Peg Bradke, Director, Heart Center at St. Luke’s Hospital
• Colleen Meggers, Director, Maternal Child Services at Mercy Medical Center – Clinton
• Dar Elbert, Assistant Administrator, Nurse Executive at Kossuth Regional Health Center
• Janet Naset-Payne, Director, Inpatient Services at Pella Regional Health Center
• Neal Loes, Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer at Mary Greeley Medical Center

Looking for more information on nursing?

For further reading you can see all of our blog posts about nurses, or visit any of the websites below:

• Iowa Organization of Nurse Leaders
• Iowa Board of Nursing
• Nurses for a Healthier Tomorrow

If you have questions about nursing or anything related, ask below in the comments.

Summer campers who are accustomed to swimming, riding horses and sitting by a campfire will have the opportunity to attend a different kind of summer camp at Genesis Health System in Davenport, Iowa.

With the assistance of a grant from the Genesis Health Services Foundation, the Genesis Adventures in Nursing Summer Camp (GAIN) will be held for the first time this July.

Getting an early start in health care

This camp will reach out to young people who may someday be interested in a health care career. Campers will tour the hospital, observe a mock trauma in the emergency department, visit an operating room and learn first aid and CPR.

Campers will also learn the basic anatomy and physiology of the heart and brain and will learn about health assessment.

Ensuring an adequate supply of nurses is essential to any health care delivery system. Genesis is doing its part by creating an exciting summer adventure that will allow campers to explore the many options a career in nursing can provide.

According to a report from Compete, AllNurses.com has moved up one position on the list of top ten largest professional social networks from 2008 to 2009.

AllNurses sees 99% growth in one year

Year over year growth for the site increased by 99%, pushing AllNurses past professional relationship building platform Naymz, but still trailing business contact directory Jigsaw.

Though the site boasted 498,356 unique visitors in April, the section for Iowa nurses seems a bit sparse in the discussion area. The first page of discussions has several threads whose last reply was received in May or April, but many of those same threads were first posted a few years ago, leading me to believe that there isn’t a lot of Iowa nurse traffic moving through the site.

What social networking websites do you use?

Just because AllNurses made the top ten largest professional social networking websites list doesn’t mean it is the right site for you. There are several other nursing-focused websites as well as the big players like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

What sites are you using to connect with other nursing professionals?

The fifth annual 100 Great Iowa Nurses celebration, a ceremony created for the state of Iowa by nurse and community leaders, will be held on May 3, 2009 in Des Moines.

Each year 100 Great Iowa Nurses are selected for this honor, representing many sectors of health care, including hospitals, long-term care facilities and school and office nurses.

Recipients from prior years are invited back to be recognized at the event and the 2009 awardees will invite family, friends and colleagues to share in the recognition of their outstanding achievements. You can see a state map showing the represented counties and their recipients on the Great Iowa Nurses website.

The Iowa Hospital Association is proud to be a supporting sponsor of this statewide event.