Mississippi to offer loan forgiveness program for first year nurses
The Nurse Retention Loan Repayment Program is designed to benefit Mississippi and health care providers.
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi is launching a new program to help keep and attract nurses in the state while removing their college debt.
The Nurse Retention Loan Repayment Program is designed to benefit Mississippi and health care providers.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer for North Mississippi Medical Center Kristen Long said first-year nurses can pay off their student loans with the program.
This is also a way for the state to avoid a nursing shortage.
“Eligible recipients must work full time in the State of Mississippi as a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse in a skilled nursing home or a general acute care hospital that is licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health,” said Long.
The state-funded program will pay $6,000 per year directly to each candidate’s loan service provider for up to three years.
“Student loans are one of the largest debts in America, so most people experience student loan debt and so with something like this when you come out of nursing school and you are ready to start your career you are weighed down by the thought of debt that you are going to have and finding a job that can help support you through that,” said Long. “Through forgiveness like this now that worry can be lifted so you can concentrate on your new career and taking care of your patients.”
The program looks to benefit a variety of nurses.
“The really exciting thing about this program is it is not just for registered nurses but also our LPNs so this being available for our LPNs and not just our RNs makes this a public resource for all people,” said Long.
Long said North Mississippi Medical Center looks for a variety of ways to give back to its employees and this program is one of many it offers.
“At North Mississippi health services, we offer many programs to help our new nurses and our employees. One of those things is tuition reimbursement, we also have our student loan back for our hospitals so when we now add this to it there are many options for our employees to be able to get out from under the budget of student loans and help pay back some of their tuition,” said Long.
Eligible recipients must work full-time in the State of Mississippi as a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse in a skilled nursing home or a general acute care hospital that is licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
To see if you qualify for the program, visit msfinancialaid.org
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