MEDIA ALERT

WHAT: HHS Deputy Secretary Claude Allen to make funding announcement at HU School of Nursing

WHEN: Monday, June 2 at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: Hampton University School of Nursing

Hampton, VA - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Claude Allen will hold a press conference to announce the release of 16 grants to promote diversity in the nursing workforce on June 2 at 11:30 a.m. at the Hampton University School of Nursing auditorium.

Allen will tour the School of Nursing at 10:30 a.m. and then make the announcement at 11:30 a.m. The HU nursing school is located on the corner of Emancipation Drive and Tyler Street across from the Emancipation Oak. Sixteen institutions will receive an award and Hampton University will receive the largest amount.

The purpose of the grants is to encourage persons from disadvantaged backgrounds and minorities to enter the nursing field and in turn help to alleviate the national nursing shortage. According to the American Hospital Association, there are 126,000 nursing positions currently unfilled in hospitals across the country. Members of minority groups account for about 30 percent of the population, but they represent just over 12 percent of the nursing workforce.