For
Immediate Release:
September
10, 2003
Mikulski
and Collins Successful in Effort to Help Ease
Nation's Nursing Shortage
WASHINGTON,
D.C. -- Today the Senate accepted an amendment offered by
Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) and Susan M. Collins
(R-ME) that will help ease the nursing shortage by recruiting
and retaining more nurses. The amendment would increase
funding for the Nurse Reinvestment Act and other nursing
workforce development programs (Title VIII) by $50 million,
bringing the total funding to almost $163 million for these
vital programs.
"America
is facing a nursing shortage," said Senator Mikulski.
"There are more than 125,000 nurse vacancies in hospitals
nationwide. In Maryland, nearly 13 percent of hospital nursing
jobs are vacant. The nursing shortage is only getting worse.
Senator Collins and I worked together to make nursing recruitment
and retention a priority in the federal law book when we
passed the Nurse Reinvestment Act last year. Today we worked
together to make sure nursing is a priority in the federal
checkbook."
"In
Maine, almost one out of every 10 nursing positions at hospitals
across the state are vacant, and we also face persistent
shortages of certified nursing assistants and other front-line
health care workers in our hospitals, home health agencies,
and nursing homes," said Senator Collins. "Our
amendment will help turn these statistics around by providing
funding for programs that play a vital role in recruiting
nurses and making certain that they have the training that
they need to care for patients."
The
amendment introduced by Senators Mikulski and Collins increases
federal funding for the Nurse Reinvestment Act and other
nursing workforce development programs to recruit and retain
nurses. The Senators fought last year to pass the Nurse
Reinvestment Act, programs that offer people financial assistance
to cover the costs of nursing education and training. Since
the Nurse Reinvestment Act passed last year, the Senators
have spearheaded the effort to fund these programs.
More
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. Last year, nursing schools
turned away over 5,200 qualified applicants because they
did not have enough faculty. The University of Maryland
School of Nursing was forced to turn away 100 applicants
for its bachelor's degree program this Spring because of
a faculty shortage.
About
2,000 nurses are needed to fill positions in Maryland hospitals.
Nationwide, an estimated 2.8 million registered nurses will
be needed by the year 2020 but only about 2 million are
expected to be available.
This
amendment was attached to the FY 2004 Senate Labor, Health
and Human Services Appropriations bill and was cosponsored
by 34 Senators. The amendment was also supported by over
40 organizations including the American Nurses Association,
American Hospital Association, and the American Association
of Colleges of Nursing.
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CONTACT:
Amy Hagovsky
202-228-1122
