Gov. DeSantis says Florida has invested close to $500M to support nursing education since 2019

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said that Florida has invested close to $500 million to support nursing education.

DeSantis held a press conference at St. Petersburg College with the Florida Education Commissioner Stasi Kamoutsas.

He emphasized the importance of workforce education to Florida.

“You can come to our state colleges and you can get skills that are very hands-on, but they’re advanced skills that are going to have really good applications, DeSantis said.

The state has launched competitive dollar-for-dollar matching grant programs between educational institutions and healthcare providers.

DeSantis also announced that since 2022, the state has invested almost $500 million to support nursing education. There was an additional $20 million with $14.5 million awarded to state colleges and private post-secondary education and $6 million to state universities.