AUGUSTA, Maine — Editor's note: The video above aired Jan. 28, 2022.
The Maine Senate on Tuesday unanimously supported a bill that would add $2.5 million in funding to the Maine Community College System for three years in order to expand its nursing programs.
LD 1807, An Act to Expand Nursing Education Programs, is sponsored by Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Maine. The ongoing funding would allow the Maine community college system to hire more faculty and enroll more students.
“Maine’s need for nurses is becoming increasingly dire," Daughtry said in part in a release. "Nurses make up the largest portion of the health care workforce, with jobs opening every day and not nearly enough trained professionals to fill them. These are good-paying, fulfilling careers. Opening up spaces in nursing education programs right here in our state will feed directing into our pool of nurses."
“This year I have been inundated with requests from employers seeking to hire our nursing graduates,” Kathleen McManus, chairperson of the nursing program at Central Maine Community College, said in testimony supporting the bill. “Each year we experience nearly 100 percent job placement for our nursing graduates. Our graduates are able to obtain great paying nursing jobs with benefits. In my experience, most graduates, if not all, stay locally in the same facilities where they did their clinicals. Increasing enrollment in nursing programs is an investment that will not only benefit the health care industry, but as importantly, benefit the citizens of Maine.”