News brief: Financial aid for nurses, others for homes, tuition

Financial aid for nurses, others for homes, tuition

The state of Florida has introduced low-cost home and educational loan programs to help health care providers recruit and retain nurses and other health care professionals. The HealthCare Worker+ initiative, which is a partnership with Fannie Mae (The Federal National Mortgage Association), will help nurses and others obtain funding for a home by using just 1%, or $500 of their own funds, according to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The loans are available to full-time RNs, licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, unlicensed assistants, and accredited physician assistants as well as medical technicians, technologists, and therapists. The student loan program, a partnership with Medsouth, will provide low-interest loans to Florida-licensed nursing professionals and students to help them repay their college loans. Florida has 9,800 vacant nursing positions and expects to need 34,000 additional RNs by 2006.