Senate Passes Bipartisan Jaquez Lewis Bill to Bolster Health Care Workforce

Legislation would support the education training, recruitment and retention of nurses and health care workers 

DENVER, CO – The Senate today passed a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Boulder County, that would bolster Colorado’s health care workforce through a $61 million investment in education, training, recruitment and retention of nurses and health care workers.

SB22-226, co-sponsored by Senator Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, would address the shortage of health care workers by assisting with tuition and fees to help people get into high-demand health care fields. These programs require clinical hours at health facilities, currently a major limiting factor in how many students schools can accept. To address this, the bill would also provide funding for health care facilities to increase training slots to build long-term capacity to train new and existing employees.

“It’s no secret – the past two plus years have been tough. We’ve gone through some incredibly challenging times, weathered difficult storms, and held strong in the face of real adversity,” said Jaquez Lewis. “As we move forward together, we must invest in Colorado’s health care workforce and better prepare and equip our health care heroes. This will not only result in better quality of care for Coloradans, it will give workers advanced skill sets that help them grow and move forward in their careers.”

Additionally, the bill would create the Health Care Workforce Resilience and Retention Program in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to develop employee well-being programs and support the retention of health care workers.

SB22-226 now heads to the House for further consideration. Track the progress of the bill HERE.