How Federal Health Funding Cuts Are Reshaping Global Care—and Impacting Nursing Leadership (With Jerilyn Hoover)

In this episode of the Love and Leary Podcast, Rebecca Love and Marion Leary sit down with public health nurse and former USAID leader Jerilyn Hoover to discuss the sweeping impact of recent federal health funding cuts. Jerilyn shares a firsthand account of how the abrupt closure of global health programs disrupted HIV, maternal-child health, and workforce initiatives worldwide—contributing to devastating human consequences and the displacement of thousands of health workers.

The conversation also explores a critical but overlooked issue: the loss of nursing leadership within federal agencies and its long-term implications for healthcare policy and innovation.

>>How Federal Health Funding Cuts Are Reshaping Global Care—and Impacting Nursing Leadership

Jump Ahead to Listen: 

[00:01:03] Introducing guest Jerilyn Hoover
[00:02:15] Early interest in public health nursing
[00:04:10] MPH at Johns Hopkins and focus on health policy
[00:04:40] Joining USAID and health workforce work
[00:05:35] Asked about the day the agency was closed
[00:06:00] Inauguration week trip to Ivory Coast
[00:07:00] Seeing news of the 90-day aid freeze
[00:07:20] PEPFAR background and scale of support
[00:08:07] Overnight layoffs and halted services
[00:09:22] Locked clinics and shortages of HIV meds
[00:12:31] Estimated 700,000 deaths from aid cuts
[00:16:09] Federal government as career pathway for nurses
[00:19:23] Why nurses must be in policy roles
[00:22:13] Risk of nursing retreating to only clinical/academic roles
[00:23:31] Calls to action: advocacy, mentorship, support

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