UF Nursing secures $3 million to expand Florida’s nurse workforce

The University of Florida College of Nursing will receive $3 million to help address the state’s nursing shortage.

These funds — $1.5 million from Florida’s Linking Industry to Nursing Education program matched by $1.5 million from UF Health — will support 50 nursing scholarships, lab upgrades, faculty recruitment and retention efforts and expanded student services.

In September, there were more than 16,000 nursing vacancies in the state, according to a report by the Florida Hospital Association. While those numbers are better than the 58,000 vacancies reported in 2022, the group’s long-term projections still show that Florida could have a shortage of almost 60,000 nurses by 2035.

This marks the second year the college has received funding from the program, which was established in 2022 by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The program requires state funds to be matched by a health care partner.