Gov. Jay Nixon pushed a new $40 million plan to train health care professionals Thursday that will fund the first nursing program at Northwest Missouri State University since the late 1980s.

The launch of the governor’s “Caring for Missourians” program at two Missouri universities came just as critical lawmakers predicted three weeks ago, when the Legislature approved the 2009-10 state budget.

“We are facing a critical shortage of health care workers in the state of Missouri today,” Mr. Nixon said while at the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, the Associated Press reported. “These are high-paying, high-demand careers in which motivated students willing to go the extra mile are necessary to stand up to the training.”

The Democratic governor is calling on community colleges and universities to participate in the program by using federal stabilization dollars the Legislature approved for one-time purposes.

A Thursday news release from the governor’s office said the program “was established by the legislature as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 budget,” but the money Mr. Nixon is pointing to as the program’s funding source wasn’t labeled as such in the budget bill.

Originally slotted for maintenance or repair needs, the final language said universities could use the money for “any one-time purpose.”

During debate on the state’s higher education budget earlier this month, Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and other lawmakers criticized the vagueness of the eventual use of the stabilization money.

“It was murky,” said Beth Wheeler, external relations director for Missouri Western State University.

Mr. Lager announced suspicions that it would be used for “Caring for Missourians” and raised concerns over starting a new ongoing program with temporary money. He said Thursday he didn’t oppose the program itself or if universities could find a way to participate without committing themselves in future budget years.

“Do not go spend this money in a way that is going to force universities into a box where they will have re-occurring expenses,” Mr. Lager said. “There is not an obligation on behalf of the state to fund that. Those universities may have to absorb that on their own.”

Mr. Nixon said he was committed to helping establish money in future years to keep the program alive.

Universities are under no obligation to participate in “Caring for Missourians,” but many are. Northwest plans on using part of its $527,319 allocation to establish a partnership with North Central Missouri College in Trenton, which already offers clinical training for registered nurses. Northwest, however, would then offer those RN graduates university coursework so they could complete a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Ray Courter, Northwest’s vice president of finance, said the university plans to use the money on personnel, two faculty positions and one recruiter.

“We’re going to move forward to the degree that we can. That’s why we’ll take small steps,” Mr. Courter said.

He said additional nursing students will bring additional tuition money. “There will be some return, some new revenue,” he said. “It’s not a dumb risk.”

Roughly a third of the $527,319 will go toward the nursing program, while the remainder will offset maintenance and repair costs, he said. North Central also is slated for $304,333.

Officials at Missouri Western State University, which already has an established nursing program, haven’t yet decided how to use its $847,724 allotment, but it will participate.

“We’re trying to figure out what we can do with using one-time money,” said Ms. Wheeler, pointing to the possible addition of classroom space or database upgrades.

Mr. Nixon also traveled to Springfield Thursday.

Alyson E. Raletz can be reached

at alysonraletz@npgco.com.