Harrisburg, PA – Governor Josh Shapiro's 2025-26 budget proposal includes targeted investments to expand the health care workforce — ensuring communities across Pennsylvania have access to high-quality care – and he’s fighting to get it done.
The Governor’s proposal includes:
- $5 million to expand the Department of Health’s Primary Care Loan Repayment Program, providing loan forgiveness and incentives for health care providers to serve in rural communities.
- $5 million to launch the Nurse Shortage Assistance Program – the first state-level investment of its kind – which would fund organizations that partner with hospitals and nursing schools to provide student loan repayment for nursing students who commit to working at Pennsylvania hospitals for at least three years after graduation.
During National Nurses Week, it’s especially important to recognize the vital role nurses play in our health care system — and the need to invest in solutions that support and strengthen this essential workforce.
Click here to watch Maureen Mae – a registered nurse with more than 40 years of experience – talk about the importance of investing in nurses and supporting the next generation of caregivers, or read the transcript below.
TRANSCRIPT
“My name is Maureen Mae. I am a registered nurse of over 40 years. I received my degree in nursing from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and I work at Temple University Hospital, and I've been here for over 28 years.
“National Nurses Week means everything to me because nursing is an honorable and noble profession, and it means everything to celebrate that nobility and to celebrate the most trusted profession. We are caregivers and we are healers. That's why it means everything to me.
“So the main reason I became a nurse, and for many nurses, was because it's a humanitarian mission and nurses are natural healers, and we know that the profession of nursing is a healing profession.
“Some of our challenges are related to the resources that we need to provide safe patient care, whether it is equipment or it has to do with not enough nurses and health care professionals and the resources we need to provide safe patient care. They are the challenges that we face.
“I'd like to thank Governor Shapiro for believing in the power of nursing, which is our national theme for Nurses Week this week. And I'd also like to thank him for all his support, because he does believe in nurses. He does believe in the benefit of the shortage program, the Assistance Program. He believes in the health and wealth of the patients and families and our Commonwealth Pennsylvanians. He believes in making sure that we are cared for properly. And that is part of what I took as a personal healing mission. And I also take as a healing mission from Governor Shapiro.”
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