Federal funds to help pay off Pennsylvania nursing student loans
(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) board members have approved a program to provide up to $7,500 in student loan forgiveness for the commonwealth’s nurses.
The board approved the Student Loan Relief for Nurses program Thursday to provide $5 million in debt relief for nurses amid a state and nationwide staffing shortage that has grown worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program is funded using $5 million of the state’s share of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, money intended to address public health needs related to the pandemic.
Nurses selected will receive up to $2,500 a year for up to three years on the job, beginning in 2020. Eligible applicants must be licensed through the Department of State, be a Pennsylvania resident and have begun employment before Dec. 31. The program is open to registered nurses, practical nurses, certified registered nurse practitioners and those who worked in qualified nursing facilities and schools.
Applicants must have worked 20 or more hours per week on average for a year to qualify.
“Pennsylvania nurses have been instrumental to the commonwealth’s COVID-19 response, from bedside care and educating our communities, to supporting the commonwealth’s nation-leading vaccine distribution efforts,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in September when the plan was announced. “My administration is thrilled to help facilitate this initiative, which will not only give a well-deserved boost to nurses on the front lines of this pandemic, but also help rebuild a strong workforce of future healthcare workers.”
The PHEAA is expected to begin accepting applications through its website, starting Jan. 1. The application window will remain open until March 1.
If the number of applicants exceeds available funds, the PHEAA plans to randomly select recipients through a process that distributes the funds geographically by region throughout the commonwealth.
The program will make loan payments directly to federal or private loan providers on behalf of recipients, though parent loans are ineligible. The payments also cannot exceed applicants’ outstanding student loan balances.
“Few are more deserving of financial relief than the Pennsylvania nurses who have worked so selflessly on the front lines to care for our sick and injured despite the many risks of COVID,” said Rep. Mike Peifer, R-Pike, chair of the PHEAA board, according to PennLive.
The loan forgiveness is the latest effort by Pennsylvania to address a nursing shortage that began before the pandemic and only has gotten worse. Wolf granted nearly 100 waivers in 2020 to relax rules for health care workers to ease the burden on hospitals, vaccination clinics and long-term care facilities.
The waivers allowed out-of-state and retired professionals, as well as those with lapsed licenses, to treat patients in Pennsylvania. Wolf also expanded those authorized to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, Spotlight PA reported.
The waivers were set to expire Sept. 30, but the General Assembly extended dozens of the waivers for the Department of Health, Department of Human Services and the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs until March at the behest of hospital administrators and health officials, according to the news site.
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