SANFORD, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that $125 million in Florida's state budget will be set aside to support the state's nurses.
He spoke shortly before 11 a.m. at Seminole State College. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Senate President Wilton Simpson, along with other local and state leaders joined DeSantis.
DeSantis said $100 million of the secured funds would go to workforce and education initiatives. Specifics on what this money would exactly do haven't been given yet.
DeSantis mentioned how a special session in November 2021 limited COVID-19 vaccine mandate requirements for medical personnel, noting how in many places across the country nurses either quit or lost their jobs for choosing not get vaccinated against COVID-19.
May is National Nurses Month, which is one reason DeSantis says he is making this announcement now.
On May 12, which happened to be International Nurses Day, some Florida nurses marched to the State Capitol calling for better work conditions, saying if they don't change, patients' lives are also at stake.
The problems nurses said they face existed before the pandemic but COVID-19 exacerbated it.
Florida could lose nearly 60,000 nurses by the year 2035, according to a report commissioned by the Florida Hospital Association and Safety Net Hospital Alliance. Another recent study projects the state could face a shortage of nearly 18,000 doctors.
These shortages are in part fueled by Florida's booming population, according to reports.
You can watch DeSantis' full news conference here.