NEW YORK NURSE: April 2009
By Nancy Webber
The budget passed by the State Legislature in early April recognizes the need to build the nursing workforce.
It includes $4 million for expanding nursing programs at SUNY and CUNY schools, the same amount as last year. Just under $1 million has been allocated to high-needs nursing education programs at private colleges and universities.
Funds also were restored to the Patricia K. McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship and Loan Forgiveness Program to bring the total to $3.9 million.
While the budget did not cut Medicaid reimbursement levels to the degree originally proposed by Gov. David Paterson, it does reduce payments to hospitals by $300 million and to nursing homes and home care agencies by $293 million.