DES MOINES -- An Iowa student loan company has announced a program to address the state's nursing shortage that will help nursing graduates repay their student loans if they choose to remain and work in the state.

Iowa Student Loan, a nonprofit organization, will spend up to $8 million to repay loans of up to 2,000 registered nurses who decide to work in the nursing field in Iowa or teach at the state's nursing colleges.

CEO Steve McCullough said the program keeps with the company's mission to help Iowans. "It's great that we can bring our resources to bear on an issue of such importance to our state," McCollough said.


Rep. Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, a nurse practitioner, said the program will be useful in helping recruit graduates for Iowa positions.

"This looks like a good way to fill some of those gaps we're definitely seeing in the nursing profession, and could be pretty lucrative for people considering entering the nursing field," she said.

By 2009, an estimated 60 percent of all licensed nurses in the state will be over the age of 50, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Between 1993 and 1999, admissions to registered nursing education programs declined by 40 percent while graduations declined by 27 percent.

Linda Goeldner, executive director of the Iowa Nurses Association, said many nursing students are leaving the state to find higher-paying jobs because Iowa wages aren't enough to pay back their student loans.

"A lot of people like to come back to Iowa, but initially when you've got those big school loans looming right ahead, you need to do something," she said.

Nurses who qualify for the program could see between $750 and $15,000 of their student loan debt repaid for them, depending on where in the state they work and the length of their employment.

Those who choose to teach at one of the state's nursing colleges could see up to $20,000 of their loan debt repaid.

Gov. Tom Vilsack said the fact the state will face an even greater shortage in the near future makes it difficult for the state to maintain its reputation as a quality health care provider and said the student loan program could help.

"Far too many nursing professionals leave the state after receiving top-notch training here, and we are concerned about that," Vilsack said.

Thomas Patterson of Ames, a nursing student at Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines, said the program is a step in the right direction, even if it comes too late to benefit him.

Patterson said the other part of the equation is raising wages, because graduates can get up to 20 percent more in salaries just by crossing the border to Minnesota.

"That's going to be a big part of what the state can do to retain good nurses," he said.

Nursing students applying for aid for the 2004-2005 school year are eligible to apply for the student loan program.

Those with questions can contact the Iowa College Student Aid Commission at 1-800-383-4222 or call Iowa Student Loan at 1-800-243-7552.