KOHL PROVISIONS IN HEALTH CARE LAW FUND TRAINING PROGRAMS IN WISCONSIN
Programs to Train Nurses in Geriatrics and More to Receive Nearly $800,000
WASHINGTON - Today U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, announced that several schools in Wisconsin will receive grants totaling nearly $800,000 as a result of provisions he inserted into the recently-passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Part of the funding, in the amount of $391,479, will go to ten programs for the establishment of traineeships for individuals who are preparing for advanced education nursing degrees in particular areas, including geriatrics. The remaining portion, in the amount of $402,786, will go to Marquette University to support training in geriatrics, chronic care management, and long-term care for faculty in a broad array of health professions schools, and direct care workers and family caregivers. These grants are funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
"The number of health care workers devoted to caring for older Americans is experiencing a shortage-one that will only grow more desperate as our country ages rapidly. These grants will help train a health care and long-term care workforce that is prepared for the job," said Chairman Kohl.
Kohl's provisions in the new health care law incorporated major recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for improving and expanding the skills and preparedness of the health care. According to the IOM, less than one percent of all nurses are certified gerontological nurses today, even as the population of older people is on track to double by 2030. Absent any change, by 2020, the supply of nurses in the United States will fall 29 percent below projected requirements, resulting in a severe shortage of nursing expertise relative to the demand for care of frail older adults. At a hearing in April 2008, the Senate Special Committee on Aging reviewed key factors that are contributing to the deficiency.
In addition to the $402,786 Marquette University is receiving in the form of a Geriatric Education Centers (GECs) grant, the following programs will receive Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship grants:
- The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will receive $20,939.
- Marian College of Fond Du Lac will receive $35,769.
- Bellin College of Nursing in Green Bay will receive $7,201.
- Viterbo University in La Crosse will receive $23,424.
- The University of Wisconsin-Madison will receive $46,088.
- Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon will receive $81,872.
- Alverno College in Milwaukee will receive $17,995.
- Marquette University in Milwaukee will receive $67,138.
- The University of Wisconsin System in Milwaukee will receive $65,413.
- The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will receive $25,640.
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Legislative language for Kohl's provisions as included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act can be found in Title V, Subtitle D, Section 5305.
