Rural Health Information Hub Latest News

Pennsylvania Action Coalition Refreshes, Introduces Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition

The Pennsylvania Action Coalition is excited to announce that as an outcome of the thorough strategic planning process that we engaged in over the past several months, we have a new 5-year strategic plan and we will be refreshing our brand as the Pennsylvania Nursing Workforce Coalition (PA-NWC)!

A few notes about this change:

  • We are calling this a “brand refresh” and not a “rebrand” because we want to be clear that the components of our structure are not changing. This includes the PA-NWC’s functioning as a program of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC), and our Advisory Board structure as a coalition with organizations as members and individual representatives.
  • We look forward to strengthening our position as Pennsylvania’s Nursing Workforce Center. The PA-AC has “housed” Pennsylvania’s Nursing Workforce Center since 2016 when we became a part of the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers. The “brand refresh” is just making this work more front and center.
  • The PA-NWC will continue its strong relationship with the Future of Nursing reports and the Future of Nursing Campaign for Action. Our feedback expressed that one of our core strengths was our anchor in the national framework of the Future of Nursing’s goals and that our participants continue to feel connected to and inspired by its principles. Many other nursing workforce centers across the country are simultaneously their state’s Action Coalition and workforce center.

Learn more about our new strategic plan and the process that we followed at the link below! Stay tuned for additional materials and communications as well. We are excited to work with you in our new chapter as the PA-NWC.

NIH Now Accepting Extramural Loan Repayment Applications

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is now accepting applications for the Extramural Loan Repayment Program (LRP)! Awardees can receive up to $100,000 in qualified educational debt repayment with a two-year award.

To learn more about eligibility requirements, application dates, and the benefits of receiving an LRP award, be sure to visit the LRP website, check out our overview video, and attend one of our upcoming events:

Please note that the deadline to submit your Extramural LRP application is November 21, 2024.

USDA Launches Farmer Debt Consolidation Toolkit

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched the Debt Consolidation Tool, an innovative online tool available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluate the potential savings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) or a local lender.

See USDA Launches Online Debt Consolidation Tool to Increase Farmer and Rancher Financial Viability for the press release.