Delaware could see an influx of nurses thanks to a change in an education incentive program.
Gov. John Carney (D) recently signed legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Milford), making Delawareans pursuing nursing careers at nonprofit hospitals eligible for the program. The program was previously restricted to state-operated hospitals.
Shupe said he believes this will increase the number of nurses throughout Delaware.
“So, we’re very excited for the opportunity for others that are going into the profession of nursing to have another opportunity to do so,” he said.
Shana Payne is the director of higher education with the Delaware Department of Education. She said they award about $3.4 million a year in scholarships and loans to about 1,600 students in various programs.
But Payne said students regularly declined awards from this program because they didn’t think they could find employment at the right hospitals.
“And now we have almost 100 applicants this year alone," she said. "So, we are excited about the opportunities it will provide and we look forward to being able to do the same with our other programs.”
Nursing students can start getting their educational loans forgiven once they complete one year of employment at a nonprofit or state-operated hospital. It’s one year of employment for one year of the loan.
The loan amount for an academic year is $5,000, renewable for up to three additional years with a grade point average of at least 2.75.
