Building Pennsylvania’s Nursing Pipeline: A Briefing on the Nurse Shortage Assistance Program
Webinar
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
iCalendar
Eastern Standard Time
Pennsylvania has launched the PA Nurse Shortage Assistance Program with opportunities for hospitals to receive funding and support for nursing workforce pipelines.
Persistent vacancies and turnover stretch existing nurses, increase reliance on agency staffing, and leave health systems competing for a limited pool of new graduates.
During October, Governor Josh Shapiro launched the PA Nurse Shortage Assistance Program (NSAP) within the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). NSAP provides up to $10,000 per year in state-funded loan repayment assistance in exchange for a three-year work placement at a participating Pennsylvania hospital after graduation. Participating hospitals contribute matching funds equal to at least 100 percent of the state award, creating a potential annual benefit of $20,000 per year for participating nurses.
Join us for an educational webinar for health care executives and workforce leaders. Drawing on lessons from the program's pilot with Pennsylvania health systems, this session will explain what participation requires of hospitals and how this program helps connect nursing students, hospitals, and educational institutions to build a sustainable nursing workforce pipeline.
The session will conclude with a live Q&A where attendees can ask about eligibility, matching requirements, and next steps for participating.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Explain how the PA Nurse Shortage Assistance Program works
- Review the program’s structure, including the roles of PHEAA, the qualified nursing servicer, participating hospitals, nursing schools, and students
- Assess eligibility and matching requirements for participating hospitals
- Understand which organizations can participate, how the employer match works, and what hospitals commit to when they enroll
- Apply loan repayment assistance as a recruitment strategy to engage nursing students before graduation
- Discuss how pilot health systems have used employer-sponsored loan repayment to connect with nursing students before graduation, and how tying payments to continued employment supports retention