Stimulus Plan A Potential Boost for UTEP's SON

With the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, into law this week should provide a significant opportunity for UTEP and its health related disciplines and researchers to secure additional funding. Nearly $140 billion in funding for health care is targeted to support a number of healthcare activities that could significantly impact UTEP ‘s research agenda. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will receive $10 billion with more than $8 billion targeted to fund research. The funding for NIH has been relatively flat for the past six years resulting in limited growth in the creation of new knowledge. The $10 billion will be on top of the existing $29 billion annual funding.

Currently NIH funds on an average 10% of the research proposals submitted. These new funds which must be spent over the next two years means that other competitive research applications that did not make the cut will now have an opportunity to be considered. This may mean that for UTEP researchers engaged in research such HIV/AIDs, environmental health, Hispanic health disparities, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease as well as other areas of investigations may be able to secure additional moneys.

While investigating important health issues the infusion of funds will also mean the creation of new jobs and opportunities for local vendors to provide supplies and equipment needed to conduct the research. It is estimated that nationally some 70,000 jobs can be created as a result of this investment in research. In the School of Nursing alone over 20 positions are funded in whole or part by either NIH or Health Service Resources Administration (HRSA) funds.

Another $1.1 million is targeted to fund comparative research that will support investigations that compare different treatment approaches against each other. For example, projects that compare newer drugs prescribed to manage elevated cholesterol with less expensive generic formulas are the type of comparisons that are anticipated to be funded. There is evidence suggesting that some existing treatments and medications may not be as effective as those that cost less. Pharmaceutical, medical supplies and equipment manufactures in a free market system have incentives to push their latest product even thought the effectiveness of such may be the same or less than a cheaper option. The Obama stimulus package will encourage investigations to evaluate alternatives so that any costs savings can be pass on the consumer without impacting outcomes of care. Potentially billions in cost saving can be achieved from the results of such comparisons.

With support provided in part by the Hispanic Health Disparities Research Center a NIH Center of Excellence and the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects, UTEP investigators from across the campus have been actively engaged in drafting new and refining prior submissions in anticipation of the opportunity to tap these new funds. UTEP’s School of Nursing ranks 28th in the nation (out over 700 bachelor and higher degree granting Schools of Nursing in nation) for the amount of its NIH funding.

The stimulus package also provides $500 million for health professional education. Nursing Workforce Development Programs (Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act) and the Health Professions Training Programs (Title VII) were allocated $300. This means your School of Nursing will hopefully receive additional funds to educate more nurses for our community.