On April 19, the AAMC-led Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) held a congressional briefing on health workforce shortages, joined by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), both of whom gave opening remarks. Burgess and DeGette both underscored the importance of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs and highlighted the bipartisan support for these programs.
Panelists included Johnnie Early II, PhD, chair of the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools; Marion Manski, MS, associate professor and director of Dental Hygiene at the VCU School of Dentistry; Janice Knebl, DO, MBA, chair and professor of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine; and Catherine Wilson Cox, PhD, RN, associate professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing.
The briefing focused on how the HRSA Title VII and VIII programs shape the workforce and help address health workforce shortages. The panelists spoke in detail about their work and experiences with their respective programs, stressed the importance of providing robust funding for the Title VII and VIII programs, and reinforced HPNEC’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding recommendation of $1.51 billion [refer to Washington Highlights, March 24].
Earlier this month, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) submitted a Dear Colleague Letter, signed by 40 Senators, to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies advocating for $980 million in funding in FY 2024 for the HRSA Title VII health professions programs, in line with HPNEC’s recommendation.