Florida's nursing crisis is about to hit hospitals like a freight train.
Nearly 60,000 nursing positions could sit empty by 2035 as Baby Boomers age into their most expensive healthcare years and the state's population explodes.
But Ron DeSantis just shocked nursing schools with this $130 million announcement.
DeSantis doubles down on workforce education with massive nursing investment
DeSantis rolled out his "Floridians First" budget proposal for the 2026-27 fiscal year with $130 million earmarked specifically for nursing education programs.¹
The funding would continue supporting the state's PIPELINE and LINE programs that have been churning out nurses since DeSantis launched them in 2022.
Since then, the state has invested close to $400 million in nursing education alone.
The results speak for themselves — enrollment in Associate of Science nursing programs at Florida College System institutions jumped 25% from 2021 to 2024.²
https://twitter.com/StasiKamoutsas/status/1999124646638035103?s=20
Program completions increased by 24% during that same period.²
"Florida is addressing the nationwide demand for qualified nurses through smart investments in workforce and nursing education," DeSantis said. "These two programs are producing results, which is why I will support their full renewal in the upcoming fiscal year."³
Florida's nursing schools needed this lifeline.
A 2021 Florida Hospital Association report projected the state would face a shortage of 59,100 nurses by 2035.⁴
More than 16,000 nursing positions sat vacant across the state as recently as September 2025, according to the association.⁵
The PIPELINE program rewards nursing education programs based on student success and passage rates.
LINE provides matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis to schools that partner with healthcare providers.
Halifax Health in Daytona Beach is watching firsthand what happens when you invest in nursing education.
The hospital contributed $1 million to match LINE funding for Daytona State College.
Twenty-four years ago, the college was producing 30 nurses annually.
Today that number has exploded to more than 400 and keeps climbing.⁶
Florida's demographic time bomb demands action now
DeSantis gets what Democrats running high-tax states refuse to acknowledge — you can't have world-class healthcare without enough nurses to deliver it.
Florida's population growth is unlike anywhere else in America.
The state added roughly 365,000 new residents in 2023 alone.
Most of them are older Americans fleeing blue-state disasters in New York, California, and Illinois.
Those newcomers need healthcare, and they need it from qualified nursing staff who know what they're doing.
NUC University President Dr. James Michael Burkett pointed out the obvious truth that nursing education bureaucrats hate to admit.
"A lot of the students that we get, they are already working, or they have school-aged children, so they have a lot of commitments," Burkett explained. "They're not the person who just school is their full-time job. So the availability of funding from the governor, I think is really going to help."⁷
Translation: The people who want to become nurses are adults with families and bills to pay, not 18-year-olds living in dorm rooms on their parents' dime.
They need financial support to make the career switch happen.
DeSantis is giving them exactly that.
Florida currently has a nursing adequacy rate of just 93%, meaning the available supply meets only 93% of projected demand.⁸
By 2037, the state faces a projected shortage of 23,500 registered nurses with that adequacy rate holding steady.⁸
Without intervention, Florida hospitals will be chronically understaffed for decades.
DeSantis saw this train wreck coming and stepped on the gas to prevent it.
His mother worked as a nurse for more than 40 years, so he understands the profession isn't just another job category.
"You have opportunities in that profession to impact a lot of people in a positive way," DeSantis said back in 2022. "You really are making a difference."⁹
The $130 million investment builds on the nearly $400 million DeSantis has already poured into nursing education since 2022.
That funding produced 7,498 nursing program completions in fiscal year 2023-24, the highest number in three years.¹⁰
Enrollment in Associate of Science nursing programs at Florida College System institutions receiving LINE funding surged from 12,456 to 15,636 between 2021 and 2024.¹⁰
Compare that to what's happening in states run by Democrats.
New York drove out nurses who refused COVID vaccines and still hasn't recovered.
California's rigid regulations make it nearly impossible for new nursing programs to launch.
Illinois can't recruit enough nursing faculty because nobody wants to live there anymore.
DeSantis took the opposite approach — remove barriers, reward success, and let the free market work.
The strategy is paying off exactly like he predicted it would.
Florida now ranks first in the nation for higher education while keeping tuition frozen.¹¹
The state's nursing programs are expanding capacity and graduating more students than ever before.
Hospital systems across Florida are partnering with colleges to create the pipeline of nurses they desperately need.
And DeSantis just guaranteed that the pipeline stays open for at least another budget cycle.
¹ "Nursing schools hopeful after DeSantis proposes $130 million investment in nursing education," WKMG-TV, December 15, 2025.
² "Governor DeSantis Highlights Success in Reducing Nursing Shortages Through LINE and PIPELINE Funds," Florida Governor's Office, 2024.
³ Ibid.
⁴ "Florida Nurse Workforce Projections: 2019 to 2035," Florida Hospital Association, 2021.
⁵ "UF Nursing secures $3 million to expand Florida's nurse workforce," University of Florida, March 20, 2025.
⁶ "Governor says nearly $400M in nursing education investments is paying off," Florida Politics, September 3, 2024.
⁷ "Nursing schools hopeful after DeSantis proposes $130 million investment in nursing education," WKMG-TV, December 15, 2025.
⁸ "Registered Nurse (RN) Demand Continues to Grow in Florida," FVI School of Nursing, November 2025.
⁹ "Gov. DeSantis announces support for $125M for nurse training," Florida Politics, May 16, 2022.
¹⁰ "Governor DeSantis Highlights Success in Reducing Nursing Shortages Through LINE and PIPELINE Funds," Florida Governor's Office, 2024.
¹¹ "DeSantis releases 2026-27 fiscal year education budget, with robust support for FCS programs," Florida Department of Education, December 15, 2025.
