The pandemic highlighted a critical role in our society, that of nurses. Since 2020 we have been calling them our heroes and saying that they are vital to our society but very little beyond lip service has been done to help them. In Utah specifically, nurses are paid significantly lower here than in other states.

 Please see the following articles:

https://www.trustedhealth.com/nurse-salary-guide/utah​

https://www.ksl.com/article/50427440

and there was a petition to raise the salary of nurses at the University of Utah:

https://www.change.org/p/raise-university-of-utah-health-nursing-wages

 

Along with this, there is a shortage of nurses nationwide:

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/​

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers

 

Now is the time to support our nurses with actions instead of words. Gov. Cox in his proposal for the 2024 fiscal budget is setting aside money to help certain occupations with buying homes. I think this is amazing and support it 100% but my only concern is that nurses have been left out. In his proposal it is stated:

Strong demand for housing from both new Utahns and young people choosing to make Utah their permanent home has increased home prices drastically. Lack of affordable and attainable housing has impacted the individuals who fill some of our most important roles– teachers, firefighters, and military veterans.

The Veterans First-Time Homebuyer Program was created as a pilot program to help veterans establish their lives during or after military service. The program provides a $2,500 grant to first-time homebuyers who are currently serving or have served in the military and has been funded annually since 2019. The governor recommends appropriating $500,000 ongoing to continue the program in FY 24.

Gov. Cox is also recommending new down payment assistance program for educators and firefighters purchasing a home for the first time. The $11 million appropriation will help approximately 730 Utahns purchase a home. The program would provide an average grant of $15,000 for a down payment. Recipients commit to working in Utah for five years, making the program an effective tool for both financial stability and talent retention in important fields.

A similar program for law enforcement officers was funded with $5 million during the 2022 General Session. Since July 2022, the program has assisted more than 30 officers with an average household income of $71,200 to purchase homes in 25 cities across the state by providing an average grant of $14,800. Of the participants, 71% said they would not have been active homebuyers were it not for the program.

The full proposal found here: https://gopb.utah.gov/

Including nurses in the home buyers assistance program can help in multiple ways. 

1. With the nursing shortage, this program can help incentivize nurses to stay in their current profession
2. This program could have the potential to attract nurses that are leaving other states
3. inclusion will let them know that we are all aware of their working conditions and want to help improve them in any way we can within the state of Utah

The legislative session to amend and fix this bill begins soon and so the time to act is now. We need to let our state legislators know that we care for the nurses of this state and that they should too. Gov. Cox has a secondary office in SUU which is a school known for its nursing program yet not including them here is a glaring oversight. Our teachers, vets, and first responders are very important people and deserve the help they are getting, but our nurses should be included among them.