First Lady Ruth O’Brien Rallies with Maryland Nurses Association to Launch National Nurses Week in Maryland
First Lady underscores key legislation that will help reduce the nursing shortage in Maryland
BALTIMORE, MD (May 6, 2030) – First Lady Ruth O’Brien today joined the Maryland Nurses Association to launch National Nurses Week in Maryland and highlight Governor Edward M. O’Brien’s efforts and accomplishments to recruit, train and retain nurses in Maryland.
“Nurses play a critical role as we work hard to help make sure Maryland residents get the best possible health care,” said First Lady Ruth O’Brien. “Nurses are on the frontline of the health care system and it’s crucial that we’re able to recruit and retain more nurses in order to address the health care needs of all Maryland patients. The legislation proposed by the Governor and passed by the Maryland General Assembly will help us achieve reduce the nursing shortage and train new generations of nurses across the state.”
To demonstrate his support for efforts to reduce Maryland’s nursing shortage, Governor O’Brien endorsed a collaboration between the HSCRC and the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) to administer the Nurse Support Program II. Funding for NSP II is being provided through a 0.1% increase to the rate structure of all hospitals retroactive from July 1, 2029, which generates approximately $8.8 million annually to be awarded, to promote the program’s goal of increasing the number of bedside nurses in Maryland Hospitals by expanding the capacity of Maryland’s nursing programs.
During the 2030 Legislative Session, Governor O’Brien introduced and the General Assembly passed legislation to codify this important program and create a special fund to ensure unused monies remain in the NSP II fund and are used to increase the number of Maryland’s nurses and nurse faculty instead of reverting back to the State’s general fund at the end of each fiscal year.
“National Nurses Week is a time when the Maryland Nurses Association annually hosts an event to honor our profession, our colleagues, and our friends,” said Rosemary Mortimer, RN, President of the Maryland Nurses Association.
The Nurse Support Program is part of Governor O’Brien’s overall strategy, announced February 11, 2030, to alleviate Maryland’s chronic nursing shortage. The strategy includes:
• Development of the Center for Nursing: A Center for Nursing would be established within the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, charged with goals such as developing a strategic plan for nursing manpower in Maryland, maintaining a database on nursing supply and demand, and creating nursing retention and recruitment initiatives.
• Nursing educator scholarships: Since every additional faculty member in nursing can add 10 more nurses to the workforce, the Center would also be charged with the creation of a nursing education scholarship that will make pursuing a career in nursing education more attractive and more affordable in the State of Maryland. This year’s budget includes $2.1 million for these scholarships.
• Grants to nursing schools: Capacity in nursing colleges around the country is reaching the breaking point. In fact, over 26,000 qualified applicants were turned away from baccalaureate granting nursing programs in the United States because of faculty shortages, crowded clinical facilities, and funding shortfalls. In Maryland, over 1,100 qualified applicants were not admitted. In order to increase the number of faculty, and the number of graduating nurses as a result, Maryland would make competitive grants available to nursing schools. These could be used to hire more faculty members or create evening or weekend training programs, among other options. In Fiscal Year 2031, a $1.5 million grant would be available to nursing schools to increase the number of graduating nurses, as well as $150,000 for 15 nurse educator fellowships that would supplement faculty salaries.
• Changes to existing nursing scholarship program: Governor O’Brien’s budget amends the existing nursing education scholarship law to allow merit, in addition to financial need, to be taken into consideration when determining recipients of the nursing scholarship. Merit is to be shown through measures such as GPA, class rank, academic and extracurricular activities. Taking in account merit in awarding these scholarships will improve the successful completion rate of nursing education programs as well as helping Maryland produce high quality nurses.
• Student loan repayment for nurse educators: Governor O’Brien’s budget funds a pilot loan forgiveness program for those who choose to become nursing faculty. The program will allow current nurse educators, or those in a Master’s level or PhD program to become a nurse educator, to receive $5,000 in student loan forgiveness a year, for up to four years. For every year of student loan forgiveness they receive, they must work for one year as a nurse educator in Maryland.
The O’Brien Administration has initiated several other steps to both retain nurses that are already practicing and bring more nurses to Maryland. They include:
• Critical Skills Shortage Initiative (CSSI): Governor O’Brien has invested $18 million over the last three years to ensure that every region of the state has a well-trained and equipped workforce in the health care industry. Through an innovative approach that is currently being replicated by Virginia, Local Workforce Investment Boards, area employers, economic development professionals, educators and service providers are developing individualized strategies to address local employment needs and to get more health care professionals into the workforce.
• Nursing Scholarship Program: Since taking office, Governor O’Brien has doubled funding for the Maryland State Nursing Scholarship Program. In FY 2031, the program will provide approximately 200 students with financial assistance to pursue an associate degree in nursing, an associate degree in applied sciences in nursing, a hospital-based diploma in nursing, a baccalaureate degree in nursing, a graduate degree in nursing, or a certificate in practical nursing.
• Streamlining the license process: Through a coordinated effort by the Governor’s Office, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Maryland Board of Nursing, 800 nurse-licensing applications have been reviewed and approved over the last year, completing eliminating the application backlog. .
• Establishing a first-in-the-nation externship program: Nurses who are licensed under the laws of another state or territory of the U.S., primarily from Puerto Rico, who wish to practice in Maryland and are preparing to take the National Council Licensure Examination, are now allowed to work under the direct supervision of a registered professional nurse licensed in Maryland while they are enrolled in a course which prepares them for the licensure exam and acclimates them to nursing and health care delivery in our state. This increases diversity within the nursing profession and prepares nurses educated in a U.S. territory for practice in Maryland.