US launches $275m Nurses for Nursing Homes recruitment drive

Donald Trump has announced a $275 million federal initiative to recruit and retain nurses in American nursing homes, unveiling the programme at a midterm rally in Fort Myers, Florida on Friday. “Today I have breaking news for the benefit of American seniors,” Trump said, adding that his administration was “investing in nurses and elder-care facilities all across America, including in the great state of Florida,” according to Fox Business.

The Nurses for Nursing Homes initiative, formally launched the same day by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is expected to support more than 4,000 nurses nationwide. Eligible nursing students and licensed nurses can receive up to $40,000 in student-loan repayment and/or a $10,000 stipend in exchange for a three-year commitment to serve in a qualifying nursing home in a rural or higher labour-shortage area.

CMS has committed $100 million, with states contributing at least a further $175 million. The programme is funded entirely through civil monetary penalties collected by CMS and the states from nursing homes. “Without taking a dime from taxpayers, CMS is empowering the next generation of nurses to pursue their dreams,” said CMS administrator Dr Mehmet Oz. HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said the initiative would “recruit and retain thousands of nurses” and “create new pathways into long-term care careers.”

All 50 states and the District of Columbia are taking part, and every rural nursing facility is eligible, alongside further homes in higher-shortage areas. McKnight’s Long-Term Care News reports just under 9,300 homes — about 63% of skilled nursing facilities nationwide — qualify.

To receive payments, participants must hold an active RN or LPN/LVN licence, work at least 30 hours a week at a qualifying home, and have eligible student-loan debt; those without debt qualify for the stipend if they graduated within the past two years. They must also commit to three years at an eligible Medicare-, Medicaid- or dually certified long-term care facility. Applications open on Oct 26 at nursesfornursinghomes.cms.gov.

The concept is not new. McKnight’s reports the initiative was first pitched under the Biden administration in connection with a federal staffing mandate that would have required nursing homes to hire thousands more registered nurses — a mandate that has since been revoked.

Illustration: Flip News editorial illustration