Higgins: More than $340,000 for Daemen College nurse training program

Federal grant will advance efforts to improve access to qualified primary care practitioners

Congressman Brian Higgins today announced a federal grant totaling $340,800 for the Daemen College advanced education nursing traineeship program. The funding, provided through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will help train, educate and employ new primary care providers.

"This grant serves as a win-win as it provides a quality Daemen education and job placement for students, and delivers trained health care providers to fill a vital need in the community," Higgins said.

"Daemen's nursing department continues to be deeply committed to addressing the primary care shortage," said Mary Lou Rusin, Ed.D., R.N., ANEF, and chair of the Daemen department of nursing. "This important HRSA grant will provide important financial support for professionals who wish to pursue advanced nursing education at Daemen and work in primary care."

Through the grant, 45 students will receive training and graduate with an adult-gerontology primary care practitioner Master of Science degree. The program aims to include veterans and pledges a minimum of 60 percent participation from students with minority or disadvantaged backgrounds, toward the goal of increasing diversity in health professions.

This grant will help provide clinical placement for the Daemen College students in rural areas of need or federally designated medically underserved areas or health professional shortage areas.

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration states a growing older population will contribute to a projected shortage of more than 20,000 primary care providers by the year 2020.

The Daemen program also aligns with the nation's Healthy People 2020 agenda, aimed at promoting disease prevention and healthy living, by increasing the number of available primary care providers.