HHS Announces Grants to Increase Health Care Workforce Diversity - July 14, 2010

On July 1, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that HHS would award $96 million in grants to train healthcare professionals and encourage a more diverse workforce. Specifically, $66 million will be granted to colleges and universities to provide scholarships to 28,000 disadvantaged students through the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program, and $30 million will be awarded to 165 nursing programs to support nursing student loans for master and doctoral degree nurses who will become faculty at nursing schools around the nation. The funding for these programs comes from a combination of fiscal year 2010 appropriations and funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.