Lansing Sun

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a $1.2 billion supplemental funding bill designed to help children continue attending school in person by helping health care workers.

The bipartisan bill is focused on using federal funds and resources to keep kids in school as well as hiring and keeping additional health care workers and continuing to increase the momentum of the state's economy, Whitmer's office said in a release.

"Our communities benefit from a strong and talented health care workforce, and these past two years have placed incredible burdens and demands on our team members," Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of BHSH System and chair for the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, said in the release. "The funding included in this supplemental budget bill will help Michigan hospitals and health systems in rebuilding and retaining exceptional health care workers so we can continue to provide safe, high-quality care to all, including supporting innovative educational and training programs."

The bill is designed to help Michigan families and communities by using $300 million toward health care recruitment, retention and training; $150.8 million for school screening and testing; and $367.3 million for lab-capacity grants, which should speed up the processing for said tests, the governor's office said. Whitmer said the bill is a good example of how Republicans and Democrats can work together.

"The funding will ensure that our kids can continue safely learning in person by expanding testing and screening in schools and make healthcare more accessible to regular Michiganders by allocating funds to recruit and retain critical healthcare workers," Whitmer said. "I look forward to continuing in this spirit of collaboration on the fiscal year 2023 budget, which will create good-paying jobs and put money in Michiganders' pockets. Let's work together to invest more of the federal resources we have in programs and initiatives that put Michiganders first."