Fairfield University was awarded a nearly $700,000 grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to help students pay for courses they need to become nurse practitioners, the school announced Oct. 26.
With 30 million Americans gaining access to health care insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, Fairfield University estimated there would be a need for more than 91,500 new primary care providers nationwide by 2020.
“The Affordable Care Act will expand coverage to over 30 million uninsured individuals, and there are not nearly enough primary care providers to care for them,” said Lynn Babington, dean of Fairfield University”™s School of Nursing, in a statement. “This endeavor will address that problem.”
The school hopes to funnel graduates into areas where the need for health care practitioners is more pressing, such as Bridgeport, New Haven and Norwalk, Babington said in the statement.
Students who accept grant dollars to help fund their studies will be required to work with a disadvantaged population for a period of time after receiving their degrees.
HRSA is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
