House passes Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act

The House of Representatives last night passed the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act (H.R. 728), legislation that would reauthorize federal programs to develop the nursing workforce for five years. The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee expects to mark up its version of the bill (S. 1399) on Thursday. The AHA and its American Organization for Nursing Leadership subsidiary support the legislation to help address a national shortage of nurses and nurse educators. “This bipartisan legislation will help to ensure a robust and diverse nursing pipeline, which is critically important to rural and underserved areas,” said Robyn Begley, AHA chief nursing officer and CEO for AONL. “The legislation also recognizes all four advanced practice roles and includes clinical nurse leaders as eligible providers for Advanced Education Nursing Grants and the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice.”