APHON Supports Fiscal Year 2018 Funding Request
March 8th, 2017
Testimony of the Nursing Community
Prepared for the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Submitted by Suzanne Miyamoto, PhD, RN, FAAN, Convener of the Nursing Community
The Nursing Community is a coalition comprised of 63 national nursing associations that are the cross section of education, practice, research, and regulation within the profession. These organizations are committed to promoting America’s health and believe the healthcare delivery system should be one that promotes wellness, advances research through scientific discovery, and provides timely access to care. The Nursing Community represents the largest segment of the healthcare workforce with over four million licensed Registered Nurses (RNs), Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs),1 and nursing students.2
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, our organizations respectfully request $244 million for the HRSA Nursing Workforce Development programs (authorized under Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 296 et seq.]) and $160 million for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), one of the 27 Institutes and Centers within the NIH.3
Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs: Responding to Community Health Needs
As integral members of the healthcare team, nurses collaborate and lead with other professionals to improve the quality of America’s healthcare system. The reach of nursing care is vast, offering essential services in a variety of settings. As the need for providers to increase access and reduce costs continues to be a national focal point, investments in the nursing workforce are critical.
For over 50 years, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs have helped build the supply and distribution of qualified nurses to meet our nation’s healthcare needs. Title VIII programs bolster nursing education at all levels, from entry-level preparation through graduate study, and provide support for institutions that educate nurses for practice in rural and medically underserved communities. Today, the Title VIII programs are essential to ensuring the demand for nursing care is met.
According to HRSA, there were 65.9 million individuals living in designated primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas as of January 1, 2017.4
These 6,626 shortage areas impact roughly 20 percent of our country’s population. Title VIII programs provide students exposure and practicing nurses job opportunities to underserved communities such as these, thus helping to bolster recruitment and retention in these areas. In academic year 2014-2015, the Title VIII Advanced Education Nursing Traineeships supported 3,008 students, of which 72% were trained in primary care,5 and the Title VIII Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships supported 3,229 students, of which 64% were trained in Medically Underserved Areas.3
Additionally, the Title VIII NURSE Corps Loan Repayment and Scholarship Programs assist students who agree to serve at least three years in facilities experiencing a critical shortage of nurses. In 2015, over half of the Loan Repayment Program recipients extended their service contracts to work in these facilities beyond the required three years, clearly showing the program’s success in connecting current and future providers to patient populations in need.
The Nursing Community respectfully requests $244 million for the Nursing WorkforceDevelopment programs in FY 2018.
National Institute of Nursing Research: Foundation for Evidence-Based Care
The care that nurses provide must be rooted in evidence. As one of the 27 Institutes and Centers at the NIH, NINR funds research that lays the groundwork for evidence-based nursing practice. NINR examines ways to improve care models to deliver safe, high-quality, and costeffective health services to the nation. NINR’s research examines a variety of topics that will help nurses and other health professionals make informed decisions about treatment. For example, NINR funded researchers recently published a study regarding a biomarker in blood that can help predict recovery times for concussions.6
Another NINR-supported project developed technology that could lower the hospital readmission rate of older adults.7
These studies yield improved patient-outcomes and prevent costly services.
Additionally, our country must look toward prevention as the vehicle for saving lives and our system from further financial burden. NINR embraces this endeavor by funding research related to care management during illness and recovery, reduction of risks for disease and disability, promotion of healthy lifestyles, enhancement of quality of life for those with chronic illness, and care for individuals at the end of life. Moreover, NINR recognizes the need for improving global health and promotes research to reduce communicable diseases and improve public health and wellness such as maternal-newborn care. To further advance these efforts, NINR allots a generous portion of its budget towards training new nursing scientists, thus helping to sustain the longevity and success of nursing research. The Nursing Community respectfully requests $160 million for the NINR in FY 2018. The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research requests at least $2 billion above the FY2017 funding level for NIH and the request level of $160 million for NINR denotes the same percentage increase for NIH applied to NINR.
For questions, please contact Suzanne Miyamoto, Convener of the Nursing Community, at smiyamoto@aacn.nche.edu or at 202-463-6930 ext. 247.
54 Members of the Nursing Community Submitting this Testimony
Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses
American Academy of Nursing
American Assembly for Men in Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
American Association of Heart Failure Nurses
American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
American Association of Occupational Health Nurses
American College of Nurse-Midwives
American Nephrology Nurses Association
American Nurses Association
American Nursing Informatics Association
American Organization of Nurse Executives
American Pediatric Surgical Nurses Association
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
American Public Health Association, Public
Health Nursing Section
American Society for Pain Management Nursing
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses
Association for Radiologic and Imaging Nursing
Association of Community Health Nursing Educators
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Association of Pediatric
Hematology/Oncology Nurses
Association of Public Health Nurses
Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Commissioned Officers Association of the
U.S. Public Health Service
Dermatology Nurses’ Association
Emergency Nurses Association
Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association
Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
Infusion Nurses Society
International Association of Forensic Nurses
International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses
National American Arab Nurses Association
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
National Association of Hispanic Nurses
National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners
National Association of Neonatal Nurses
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Black Nurses Association
National Council of State Boards of Nursing
National Gerontological Nursing Association
National League for Nursing
National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs
Oncology Nursing Society
Organization for Associate Degree Nursing
Society of Pediatric Nurses
Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates
Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society
1 National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2017). Active RN Licenses: A profile of nursing licensure in the U.S. as of February 23, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.ncsbn.org/6161.htm.
2 American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2015). U.S. Nursing Education, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/governmentaffairs/us-nursing-education.pdf.
3 The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research requests at least $2 billion above the FY 2017 funding level for NIH, in addition to funds included in the 21st Century Cures Act. The request level of $160 million for NINR denotes the same percentage increase for NIH applied to NINR.
4 U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. (2017). Designated Health Professional Shortage Areas Statistics. Retrieved from: https://ersrs.hrsa.gov/ReportServer?/HGDW_Reports/BCD_HPSA/BCD_HPSA_SCR50_Smry_HTML&rc:Toolbar=false.
5 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Health Resources and Services Administration Fiscal year 2017 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees. Retrieved from: http://www.hrsa.gov/about/budget/budgetjustification2017.pdf.
6 National Institutes of Health. (2017). Biomarker in blood may help predict recovery time for sports concussions. Retrieved from: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/biomarker-blood-may-help-predict-recovery-time-sports-concussions.
7 Bowles, Kathryn H, Patricia Dykes, and George Demiris. Research in Gerontological Nursing. (2015). The Use of Health Information Technology to Improve Care and Outcomes for Older Adults. Retrieved from http://ldi.upenn.edu/use-health-information-technology-improve-care-andoutcomes-older-adults.