Bill Could Help Nursing, Dental Students

Students Get $ Help (Added: November 19, 2008)

One lawmaker has a solution for nursing and dental students and their growing debt. (more)

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By: NBC4i Staff | NBC4i.com
Published: November 19, 2008

[dateline] -- State lawmakers are considering a bill that could help nursing and dental students in Ohio pay for their education, as long as the students are willing to work in the state corrections system for a set period of time after they graduate from nursing school.

House Bill 267 has passed the Ohio House and is now on its way to the Ohio Senate. If it passes there and Governor Ted Strickland signs it into law, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) could begin work on a program in which the DRC would pay the cost of the education for nursing and dental students. In return, the new dentists and nurses would be required to work at a DRC medical facility for an as yet undetermined number of years.

Supporters of the bill say it would help fill a significant need for medical professionals, especially nurses, at DRC facilities -- and save the state money long-term. That's because right now, the DRC must hire contract nurses and dentists at a much higher rate than the salaries they would pay its own full-time nurses and dentists.