Nursing News:
Iowa announces program to help alleviate nurse shortage

By Charlotte Eby
An Iowa student loan company has announced a program to address the stateıs nursing shortage that will help nursing graduates repay their student loans if they choose to remain and work in the state. Iowa Student Loan, a nonprofit organization, will spend up to $8 million to repay loans of up to 2,000 registered nurses who decide to work in the nursing field in Iowa or teach at the stateıs nursing colleges. CEO Steve McCullough said the program keeps with the companyıs mission to help Iowans. ³Itıs great that we can bring our resources to bear on an issue of such importance to our state,² McCullough said. Rep. Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, a nurse practitioner, said the program will be useful in helping recruit graduates for Iowa positions.
³This looks like a good way to fill some of those gaps weıre definitely seeing in the nursing profession, and could be pretty lucrative for people considering entering the nursing field,² she said. By 2009, an estimated 60 percent of all licensed nurses in the state will be over the age of 50, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
And between 1993 and 1999, admissions to registered nursing education programs declined by 40 percent while graduations declined by 27 percent. Linda Goeldner, executive director of the Iowa Nurses Association, said many nursing students are leaving the state to find higher-paying jobs because Iowa wages arenıt enough to pay back their student loans. ³A lot of people like to come back to Iowa, but initially when youıve got those big school loans looming right ahead, you need to do something,² she said.
Nurses who qualify for the program could see between $750 and $15,000 of their student loan debt repaid for them, depending on where in the state they work and the length of their employment. Those who choose to teach at one of the stateıs nursing colleges could see up to $20,000 of their loan debt repaid. Gov. Tom Vilsack said the fact the state will face an even greater shortage in the near future makes it difficult for the state to maintain its reputation as a quality health care provider and said the student loan program could help. ³Far too many nursing professionals leave the state after receiving top-notch training here, and we are concerned about that,² Vilsack said.
Thomas Patterson of Ames, a nursing student at Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines, said the program is a step in the right direction, even if it comes too late to benefit him. Patterson said the other part of the equation is raising wages, because graduates can get up to 20 percent more in salaries just by crossing the border to Minnesota.
³Thatıs going to be a big part of what the state can do to retain good nurses,² he said. Nursing students applying for aid for the 2004-2005 school year are eligible to apply for the student loan program. Those with questions can contact the Iowa College Student Aid Commission at 1-800-383-4222 or call Iowa Student Loan at 1-800-243-7552.
Reprinted with permission of the Quad-Cities Times.