In a photo provided by the University of Vermont Health Network, licensed nursing assistant Jordan Bushy, right, and a student nurse care for newborns at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington, Vt., Friday, April 28, 2023. (Ryan Mercer/University of Vermont Health Network
MARYLAND (WBFF) —The state of Maryland is launching a new $3 million fund aimed at helping more residents complete nursing degrees as the state faces a persistent shortage of nurses.
Gov. Wes Moore andSocial Finance announced the Maryland Pay It Forward Fund on Aug. 20, describing it as a public-philanthropic initiative designed to expand Maryland’s health care workforce by supporting aspiring nurses through zero-interest loans.
The fund is seeded by $2 million from the state’s Talent Innovation Fund and includes an additional $1 million in philanthropic funding from Blue Meridian Partners. The program will offer zero-percent interest loans to students in Associate Degree in Nursing programs to support degree completion. The initiative is expected to help 80 nursing students in its first year, with plans to expand beyond the pilot phase.
Our administration is committed to building pathways to work, wages and wealth for individuals who aspire to care for Maryland’s community health needs, because nurses are our state’s frontline defense in providing affordable, accessible and quality healthcare,” Gov. Moore said. “This partnership with Social Finance aids our work to build a stronger pipeline by breaking barriers to entry and ensuring aspiring nurses are given the aid they need to achieve their goals in serving our communities.
Maryland Department of Labor Secretary Wu said the program is intended to remove cost barriers that can prevent students from finishing their training.
Cost shouldn’t stand in the way of talented Marylanders who want to become nurses and serve their communities,” Wu said. “The Maryland Pay It Forward Fund tackles this challenge head-on by helping nursing students to cover their tuition and day-to-day expenses so they can finish their degree. This is an investment in Marylanders who want to build a better future for themselves while strengthening healthcare for all of us.
State officials said Maryland’s health care system is facing a significant and persistent nursing shortage, with around 7,000 open positions and high turnover that could make future shortages more likely. While employers report competitive starting salaries, the pipeline of new nurses remains constrained, officials said, in part because of financial barriers.
The Pay It Forward Fund will provide two types of support for loan recipients. Tuition gap loans will cover up to $5,000 of remaining tuition and fees after scholarships and financial aid are applied. Living expense loans will help cover costs such as transportation, child care, housing and other essentials, with support of up to $500 per month for qualifying individuals, up to $12,000 over the two-year program.
Loans are designed to be “learner-friendly,” with borrowers required to begin payments only after earning more than $50,000 annually following program completion.
“Maryland is investing in the people its healthcare system depends on,” said Tracy Palandjian, CEO and co-founder of Social Finance, via a press release. “By pairing zero-interest loans with meaningful living expense support, the Maryland Pay It Forward Fund addresses the full picture of what can keep a nursing degree out of reach for residents who could otherwise succeed in this field. We’re grateful to the State of Maryland and Blue Meridian Partners for their partnership in bringing this model to Maryland.”
Jim Shelton, CEO of Blue Meridian Partners, called the initiative “an exemplary public-private partnership—one that provides individual opportunity and fills a critical societal need.”
In the 2026-2027 academic year, the program will begin with a pilot supporting learners at the Community College of Baltimore County. CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis said the school is “honored to help launch an innovative approach to supporting future nurses.”
“Too often, students with the talent and determination to succeed in nursing face financial challenges that make program completion more difficult,” Kurtinitis said,rtive assistance with both educational and living expenses, allowing students to focus on their studies and persist to graduation.”
State officials said the fund focuses on associate degree programs because they provide a two-year pathway to registered nurse credentials, speeding entry into the workforce and offering an on-ramp to a future bachelor of science in nursing.
