S. 3604 — Public Health Nursing Act

This section establishes a public health nursing workforce grant program (new section 780 of part E of title VII of the Public Health Service Act) under which the HHS Secretary makes grants to state, local, and territorial public health departments to recruit, hire, and train licensed registered nurses as public health nurses (i.e., nurses providing preventive health services and education on nutrition, infectious diseases, chronic disease management, and maternal/infant care) particularly in medically underserved areas and for work in public health facilities (including mobile clinics and hospitals) or home visitation; grants may also fund related medical supplies (e.g., personal protective equipment) and administrative costs, with subgrants permitted to local health departments. In awarding grants, the Secretary must prioritize applicants serving high-need populations (e.g., areas with high rates of chronic disease, infant mortality, or maternal morbidity and mortality; low-income, rural, or medically underserved populations; health professional shortage areas; or maternity care target areas), those offering linguistically and culturally appropriate services, and those with labor organization agreements or non-interference policies under the National Labor Relations Act. Grant recipients must maintain non-Federal spending on these activities at prior-year levels. Authorizes $5 billion annually for FY2026 through FY2035.