TOPEKA | U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Tuesday that $220 million in federal stimulus funds will be disbursed to programs across the country to train workers in health care and other high-growth industries.
Tuesday was the first day that training programs could begin applying for the money through the Labor Department. Solis unveiled the plan during a tour of the Shawnee County Community Health Care Clinic in Topeka and the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., saying health care services would be one of the fastest-growing career fields over the next decade as the population ages.
“We know there’s a shortage,” Solis said after touring the clinic.
She devoted much of her remarks to health care and President Barack Obama’s desire to push a health care reform bill through Congress this summer. She said such training grants were part of the equation, helping to provide an adequate work force to meet demands in rural states and areas seeing high unemployment.
Solis said $25 million of the funds would be reserved for training in communities hurt by the recent restructuring of the auto industry.
The stimulus money will go to public entities and private nonprofit groups that train workers in health information technology, nursing, long-term care and allied health careers. Read More EMR Stimulus Package