MHA Urges Funding Of Nurse-Reinvestment Act

BOSTON — The Mass. Hospital Assoc. (MHA) has joined the chorus from around the country calling on Congress to appropriate $250 million to fund the Nurse Reinvestment Act that President Bush signed into law in August.
The measure creates, among other items, a National Nurse Service Corps, new nursing scholarships, and a grant system to to improve nurse education. It also authorizes the federal government to develop public service announcements that trumpet the nursing profession.

While the bill has been passed, it hasn’t been funded. In letters to key legislators, MHA President Ron Hollander urged Congress to move quickly and decisively on the measure. “Passage of the act was an important first step,” he said. “We urge you to now support the appropriate funding so that we may put this legislation into practice.”