Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno sent a letter to Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther earlier this week that accused him of wasting taxpayer money supporting a program to bring nurses to Ohio from the country of Ghana in west Africa.
In his Wednesday letter, Moreno referenced a $225,000 grant the city awarded in June to the non-profit Greater Columbus Sister Cities International.
The money came from the city’s general fund. But a spokesperson from the mayor’s office said money has nothing to do with the program. The donation to Greater Columbus Sister Cities International is an annual grant from the city.
The Ghana-Columbus Nursing Partnership Programme was established in September and aims to formalize legal pathways for nurses trained in Ghana to work in Ohio, as well as promote business, government, cultural, educational and environmental exchanges.
At an event announcing the program, the city of Columbus signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of the Republic of Ghana, however no funds were exchanged. The partnership was facilitated by the Buckeye Africa Exchange, StrideHx and Columbus Sister Cities International.
In a statement on X, Ginther called Moreno's claims "misleading clickbait."
"Columbus is focused on solving problems and building a welcoming, vibrant community, not creating division," Ginther said.
Moreno also claims Ginther has spent $8.3 million during his time as mayor “to benefit noncitizens and foreign governments.”
Moreno cites 30 ordinances in a footnote that dates from 2015 to 2026. Those ordinances include city donations to the Community Shelter Board to assist residents of the condemned Colonial Village Apartment complex, the creation of seed grants to “support and assist with the unique and emerging needs of the growing immigrant and refugee community in Columbus,” and donations to Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS), Jewish Family Service and Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services. The list also includes $10,000 given to the Columbus Somali Cultural Festival in 2025.
Ohio Nurses Association President Rick Lucas said in a statement to WOSU that Moreno, Ginther and healthcare executives instead need to focus on Ohio’s nursing shortage and why it’s occurring.
“Recruiting nurses from overseas will not resolve the underlying problems, and expanding nursing school enrollment alone will not fix them either. Investing in nursing education matters, but educating and recruiting more nurses without addressing why they leave only perpetuates the same cycle,” Lucas said. “Workplace violence, unsafe staffing, burnout, moral injury and inadequate resources must be at the center of this conversation."
Lucas also said that nurses educated in Ohio and nurses educated abroad are not competitors and that they deserve the same protections.
"Ohio does not simply need more nurses entering the workforce. We need to stop driving the nurses we already have out of it,” Lucas said. “That starts with making our hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities places where healthcare professionals can safely practice and patients can safely receive the care they need and deserve.”
