The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Secretary, Dr. James D. Fielder, announced that $4.1 million was awarded for thirteen Competitive Institutional Grant proposals at twelve Maryland nursing programs by MHEC’s Nurse Support Program II (NSP II).
The FY 2023 Competitive Institutional Grant awards, totaling $4,101,847, include one year resource grants, multi-year implementation grants, and a continuation grant.
“These grants make it possible for the state to increase the number of nurses graduating, providing additional and highly educated nurses to align with our workforce demand,” Governor Larry Hogan said.
The size of each Competitive Institutional Grant award depends on the grant project’s ability to impact the nursing shortage in a timely manner, the depth and breadth of the initiative, and the feasibility of the budget.
“These grants are one more example of how Dr. Peg E. Daw and her team at NSP II are developing critical partnerships with institutions across the state that support the ongoing need for highly skilled and highly trained nursing professionals in Maryland,” Secretary Fielder said.
The final outcomes of this year’s awards emphasized how the proposal supported national and state initiatives:
- Continuation of the successful Lead Nursing Forward program to provide a site for the public and nurses to seek more information on a career in nursing, nursing education, and connect job seekers with employers free of charge to MD hospitals and nursing programs.
- Increasing enrollment in the Anne Arundel Community College nursing program by 114 pre-licensure nursing students.
- Developing a new evening cohort of nursing students at Allegany College of Maryland for 60 additional pre-licensure RNs.
- Implementing the Master of Science (MS) Entry to Practice nursing program at Towson University for an additional 80 second-degree MS-Entry to practice RNs.
- Assisting eight nursing programs at universities and community colleges with the resources to prepare students for the Next Generation CLEX-RN Licensure Examination starting Spring 2023.
- Implementing an Associate-to-Bachelor’s program to the existing RN-BSN program at University of Maryland Global Campus, for 50 additional BSNs.
The eight-member review panel recommended funding for 13 total proposals, at 12 institutions of higher education with nursing programs in Maryland. Schools that received funding for FY 2023 include:
- Allegany College of Maryland
- Anne Arundel Community College
- Coppin State University
- Howard Community College
- Johns Hopkins University
- Notre Dame of Maryland University
- Prince George’s Community College
- Salisbury University
- Towson University
- University of Maryland Global Campus
- Washington Adventist University
- Wor-Wic Community College
All recommended proposals were approved for funding by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) during its May meeting. This joint effort between HSCRC, MHEC, and the higher education institutions in Maryland has concentrated on meeting the needs of nursing professionals at
hospitals and nursing schools for more than 30 years.
The NSP II focuses on nurse faculty and increasing the educational capacity
to prepare a strong nursing workforce for Maryland's hospitals and health systems. The Nurse Support Program II is funded by HSCRC and administered by MHEC. For more information, go to https://nursesupport.org
