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Nursing Shortage in US
The
American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center
for Assisted Living (NCAL) praised Senators Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME) for their continued leadership
in passing an amendment in the U.S. Senate to increase funding
for the Nurse Reinvestment Act and other key Title VIII nursing
workforce development programs by $50 million, thereby bringing
total funding for these efforts to almost $163 million.
“We
commend Senators Mikulski and Collins for their hard work in
achieving this significant legislative victory. Their efforts
will help boost our depleted national nursing workforce,” stated
Charles H. Roadman II, MD, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “Seniors
and the disabled throughout the nation will benefit from the
Senators’ effort because it will help revitalize America’s
nursing workforce for long term, and improve the quality of
care provided to patients. This is a tremendous bipartisan
achievement, and the next step is to ensure the bill as amended
remains in Conference.”
The
amendment introduced by Senators Mikulski and Susan Collins
(R-ME) significantly increases federal funding for the Nurse
Reinvestment Act and other nursing workforce development programs
to recruit and retain nurses. Specifically, the amendment increases
federal funding for scholarship and loan repayment programs
for nurses who work in facilities with a critical shortage
of nurses. The amendment would also cancel education loans
for nurses who agree to teach at schools of nursing.
Dr.
Roadman noted that a recent national study by AHCA examining
the vacancy rates in the nation’s nursing homes finds almost
100,000 health care professionals are immediately needed to
fill key nursing jobs across the United States.#
The
complete AHCA nurse staffing analysis, which also includes
regional and state-specific data on turnover and vacancy
rates, can be accessed at www.ahca.org.
Education
Update, Inc., P.O. Box 1588, New York, NY 10159.
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