Nurse-midwives

Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 811 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 296j) the following: 812. Midwifery expansion program (a) In general The Secretary may award grants to schools of nursing for the following: (1) Direct support of students in an accredited nurse-midwifery school or program. (2) Establishment or expansion of an accredited nurse-midwifery school or program. (3) Securing, preparing, or providing support for increasing the numbers of, preceptors at clinical training sites to precept students training to become certified nurse-midwives. (b) Priority evaluation In awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give precedence to any school of nursing that— (1) agrees to prioritize students who choose to pursue an advanced education degree in nurse-midwifery to practice in a health professional shortage area designated under section 332; and (2) demonstrates a focus on recruitment and retention of students from rural and economically disadvantaged communities through— (A) enhanced recruitment strategies; (B) mentorship programs; (C) academic remediation; or (D) internships and fellowships. (c) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. (2) Allocation Of the amounts made available to carry out this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall use— (A) 50 percent for subsection (a)(1); (B) 25 percent for subsection (a)(2); and (C) 25 percent for subsection (a)(3)..