Washington, DC--Congressman Eliot Engel announced the awarding of two grants from the Federal Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for advanced education nursing traineeship at Lehman College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

Rep. Engel said, “America is facing a nursing shortage and these grants of $41,261 for Lehman and $16,175 for Mount Saint Vincent will help alleviate this need. These schools have excellent nursing programs that will make our residents even healthier.”

For Lehman College, the grant will enable nurses working in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens to earn a Master of Science degree in Nursing, allowing them to achieve positions of greater responsibility. The focus of Lehman’s educational program is working with urban families in promoting health and well being and eliminating health disparities.

Mount Saint Vincent stresses inclusion of the increasingly diverse area population and has 77% of its graduate nursing student population comprised of ethnically diverse students. Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Administrators and Nursing Educators from differing backgrounds are essential to the delivery of culturally sensitive and appropriate nursing care. Within the past four years graduates have worked in the New York City prison system, with the homeless in The Bowery of Manhattan, and with various AIDS populations throughout the Bronx.

Rep. Engel said, “Lehman College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent are graduating nurses who are working with those who need it most. The Bronx is fortunate to have these nursing schools in our borough.”