1/29/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - With a January 30th budget deadline just around the corner, proposed federal cuts could put nearly seven million dollars in nursing education and research funding at risk. The issue is raising concerns in Michigan, where hospitals are already facing staffing shortages, particularly in rural and underserved communities. The U-S House Appropriations Committee has moved to eliminate the National Institute of Nursing Research and most Title Eight Nursing Workforce Development programs. Ramona Benkert, dean of the College of Nursing at Wayne State University, says the cuts could jeopardize the pipeline of future nurse educators.

                    0:15  "The shortage for faculty is worse than the shortage for nursing. When you don't have funding to facilitate individuals to come back to graduate education to become nursing faculty – it worsens the downstream affects of fewer nurses coming out with an undergraduate degree."

Supporters of the proposed cuts argue they’re needed to rein in federal spending and shift responsibility for workforce training away from Washington, D-C and toward states, universities and health systems.