Every year in Florida, a few million more dollars come into the state budget, new projects and also cuts that are proposed by the legislature and then ratified or changed by the governor. For the next fiscal year, $225 million will be invested in cancer research and nurse education.
The news was announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who confirmed in a press conference from Miami that hundreds of thousands of patients have been treated and 83,000 biomedical researchers have been trained at cancer treatment centers in Florida in recent years.
All of this is thanks to an $820 million budget that the state government received from the federal government for the purpose.
“Florida has long had a need for nurses, especially as our state grows. We want to support our heroes on the frontlines,” DeSantis said in his statement.
Florida focuses on health
According to updated figures, there are currently 187,920 nurses in Florida, but if necessary measures are not taken, there will be a shortage of 60,000 of these professionals by 2035.
In addition, just $100 million was approved for cancer research and treatment for fiscal 2022-2023, an increase of $37 million from the current budget.
According to DeSantis, “We wanted to do something big. We wanted to do something meaningful, historical. That’s why, with help from the First Lady, we have proposed a record $100 million for the state’s leading cancer care and research centers.”
The new health budget will be divided among three hospitals dedicated to research and treatment of this disease: the University of Miami’s Sylvester Center, the H. Lee Moffitt Center in Tampa, and the University of Miami’s Shand Center in Florida.
“We have real confidence in these three institutions. We know they will use the funds wisely, and in a way that will positively impact patients,” concluded DeSantis.