Dear Neighbor,
Best of luck to local teams as they compete at state this week. The Rocori football team plays South St. Paul in the state Class 4A semifinals 4 p.m. Saturday at Maple Grove High School. The Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball Area girls cross country team runs in the state Class A meet 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
As for legislative news, thank you to St. John's and St. Ben's for recently inviting me to speak with a group of students studying in the medical field. We addressed a wide variety of issues, including some measures the Legislature led to passage earlier this year. A number of new provisions focused on scholarships and loan forgiveness, including:
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Additional funding for Medical Education and Research Costs – funds medical education by providing grants to providers of clinical medical education.
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Rural Loan Forgiveness Program – expanded to include mental health professionals, dental therapists and public health nurses; have to agree to practice in rural area for minimum of 3 years; excludes metro area, Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester and St. Cloud; person can be in a training/education program or have already graduated.
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Added $3 million for biennium to expand primary care residency program (includes family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, psychiatry, geriatrics and general surgery (not specifically targeted to outstate MN).
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Employee scholarships provided to expand eligible nursing facility professionals to expand their education and training.
Long-term care also has been in the news since the Legislature provided the most comprehensive nursing home funding reform in decades this year. Minnesota's nursing homes will receive $138 million in new funding starting Jan. 1. The important thing is flexibility is provided in how this money is used so local facilities can address their particular needs, whether it's to increase staff wages, buy new equipment or enhance their facilities.
One thing I really would like to impress upon people, especially those preparing to enter the workforce, is there is work available in the long-term care industry. Facilities already often have a hard time filling staff openings and demand is only going to increase as Baby Boomers age. Not only are a large number of them retiring from health care positions we will need to fill, but they will need care themselves down the road.
In other news, the city of Rockville will receive a $60,000 grant to assist with sewer improvements necessary for the relocation and expansion of a local dairy facility.
The grant is provided by the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure Program through the Minnesota Department of Economic Development. Sewer work will accommodate expansion of the Stickney Hills Dairy. The award, DEED indicates, "will provide the necessary resources for continued economic growth and enhance employment in the community and surrounding area."
Congratulations to everyone involved in preparing the city's successful grant application. I will continue following this project to see how things develop and to learn what benefits it ultimately brings. It would be good to see more local jobs created.
Good luck,
Jeff