DLLR Offers $1.5 Million for Maryland’s Healthcare Workforce
Funds for Nursing and Allied Health Fields Available

BALTIMORE - The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, a division of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, announces $1.5 million in grant funds are available as a result of the Maryland Healthcare Workforce Initiative. The grant addresses critical workforce shortages in Maryland’s healthcare industry by increasing Maryland’s capacity to train more nurses by funding scholarships to educational institutions and healthcare employer incumbent worker-training programs.

"The need to expand Maryland’s healthcare teaching capacity is crucial," says DLLR Secretary James L. Fielder, Jr., Ph.D.  "The Maryland Healthcare Workforce Initiative will quickly increase the number of nursing faculty and registered nurses graduating from Maryland schools."

The initiative includes “Teach for the Health of It,” which provides $800,000 to partnerships of healthcare and educational institutions that develop a plan to assist interested and qualified registered nurses to obtain teaching credentials and teach in Maryland nursing programs. Scholarships to help nursing students complete their education are also available through the partnerships.

An additional $700,000 is available to healthcare employers to fund incumbent healthcare worker programs to upgrade workers skills in specific healthcare related areas. Training activities result in workers acquiring transferable skills or industry-recognized certification or credentials, leading to potential career growth and increased wages.  Upgrading the skills of workers encourages promotion, creates more job opportunities and improves worker retention by increasing the skill level of the workforce.

"Teach for the Health of It and Incumbent Worker Training are innovative programs, which focus on the urgent needs of the healthcare industry," says Governor’s Workforce Investment Board Executive Director Robert Seurkamp. "The Maryland Healthcare Workforce Initiative received national recognition and serves as a model to address workforce development needs in other industries."