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Governor's Nurse Education Initiative
On April 13, 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his California Nurse Education Initiative.
The Governor kicked off the initiative designed to add thousands of additional nurses to California's hospitals and health care facilities over the next five years, by announcing a $90 million public-private partnership to provide funding for nurse education.
"Nurses are people of compassion and courage. Their profession is a labor of love and without them we simply could not deliver quality care for patients. California is facing a severe nursing shortage and it is absolutely critical that we open up the nursing profession to everyone who has the passion and potential," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "With this new initiative we are going to improve the quality of health care everywhere in our state. We are going to provide more classes, more teachers and more resources to expand the ranks of nurses in California."
The Governor announced his initiative after a tour of the Sutter Center for Health Professionals' clinical learning lab, surrounded by health care professionals and future nurses. The five-point plan to increase the number of nurses:
- Provides $90 million to expand and increase nurse education opportunities.
- Partners with schools and health facilities to build more education programs.
- Recruits more qualified instructors.
- Develops new avenues to nursing careers with high school and college nursing academies and apprenticeships.
- Seeks additional funds for nurse education from federal and other funding sources.
