Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) - Workforce Expansion Program (WEP)

For program and eligibility questions:
Kirk Koyama, MSN, RN, PHN, CNS
301.443.4926
kkoyama@hrsa.gov

For financial and budget questions:
Vanessa Prosper
301.443.0377
vprosper@hrsa.gov

HRSA contact center:
877.464.4772
TTY: 877.897.9910
HRSA contact page

Grants.gov contact center:
800.518.4726
support@grants.gov
Self-service knowledge base

SAM.gov assistance:
866.606.8220
Federal service desk

The NEPQR WEP program will fund projects designed to increase the nursing workforce in rural and underserved areas to address the critical shortage of nurses, specifically in acute and long-term care settings. The program aims to enhance nursing education and clinical practice to expand the workforce and improve retention.

Required activities:

• Implement a system for recruitment and retention of associate and/or baccalaureate degree nursing students committed to practicing in acute and long-term care settings post-graduation
• Increase nursing student enrollment 5-10% above current baseline, proportionate with the budget request
• Implement specialized education and training for nursing students on care of patient populations in long-term care and acute care settings, focusing on clinical excellence and quality improvement through established partnerships between two-or four-year RN programs and acute and long-term care clinical sites
• Provide financial, academic, peer, and wrap-around support to nursing students enrolled in the specialized training rotations
• Establish or expand meaningful collaborative partnerships
• Recruit and retain nursing faculty and clinical faculty/preceptors
• Evaluate the program's efficacy

Eligible applicants include:

• Public or private accredited schools of nursing, such as community colleges
• Nursing centers
• Nurse-managed health clinics
• Ambulatory surgical centers
• Academic health centers
• Indian Health Service Health Centers
• Native Hawaiian Health Centers
• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Home health agencies
• Hospice programs
• Public health clinics
• Skilled nursing facilities
• State and local departments of public health
• Federally Qualified Health Centers
• Rural Health Clinics
• Native American tribal governments
• Native American tribal organizations

Award ceiling: $1,000,000 per year
Project period: 4 years
Estimated number of awards: 5
Estimated total program funding: $4,750,000

Links to the full announcement, application instructions, and the online application process are available through grants.gov.