Where have all the nurses gone?
Where have all the nurses gone?
New solutions to old problems
You’ve heard it before. The country is experiencing a serious shortage of skilled nursing professionals of all levels and degrees of experience. This trend has continued even as hospitals report increasing profit levels.
California, in particular, has been hard hit. A recent study shows the state has the country’s second-lowest ratio of nurses per capita and an estimated need of 81,000 nurses by 2006, according to predictions made during a recent summit on the nursing shortage problem. (See "Lowest RNs to Gross Population per state," p. 9.)
Lowest RNs to Gross Population by State (Average number of RNs per 1,000 population base) | |
Washington | 2.19 |
California | 2.27 |
Arizona | 2.38 |
Nevada | 2.47 |
Arkansas | 2.51 |
Idaho | 2.61 |
Delaware | 2.62 |
Utah | 2.64 |
Colorado | 2.74 |
Oklahoma | 2.75 |
Oregon | 2.75 |
Connecticut | 2.76 |
Rhode Island | 2.77 |
Texas | 2.84 |
Hawaii | 2.88 |
National average | 3.22 |
Source: Institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy, Hanover, NH. (Interpretation of data from Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care.) |
To address this critical shortage, the state has mandated a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio for hospitals that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2001. While members of the state’s nurses association may be celebrating, not everyone is as thrilled.
Heaping more problems on the pile
On the contrary, some health care professionals foresee this regulation will add to the already burdened state health care system’s woes as those hospital systems unable to comply will be forced to pay substantial fines or close their doors.
To prevent the latter, some see the state stepping in to bail out these hospitals and passing that expense along to the taxpayers.
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