There are both high hopes and big concerns at the Center for Nursing Equality and Excellence at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar, R-Two Harbors, hopes the center, known as CNEE, will help address what\u2019s being called a \u201cnursing workforce crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experts say it\u2019s pretty significant,\u201d she says. \u201cWe really need to increase the nursing workforce in the state and our region for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a growing shortage, Zeleznikar hopes $500,000 in funding will bolster apprenticeship programs for would-be nurses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everybody in the state of Minnesota understands that we need to grow our nurses and make sure we have basic mentoring and apprenticeship programs so they have the confidence to start their first job,\u201d Zeleznikar said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
In a Minnesota House committee meeting earlier this week, Elaine Vandenburgh with the Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence explained the nurse workforce shortage is already having an impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s already affecting patient care, putting a strain on the current workforce and limiting access to services across the state,\u201d Vandenburgh said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to get worse without action.\u201d<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s Department of Employment and Economic Development is projecting Minnesota will add about 3,600 new registered nurses to the workforce through 2032.<\/p>\n
But the agency expects about 26,800 openings because of worker retirement or other reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we have a very large aging population in Minnesota, as does the country,\u201d Zeleznikar explains. \u201cWe\u2019re just starting to see the baby boomers turn 80.\u201d<\/p>\n
A new report by the Minnesota Department of Health shows in 2019 about 20% of the RN workforce were 55 or older; by 2024, that number dropped to 14%.<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents about 25,000 members, says there are other factors for people leaving.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis $500,000 is great,\u201d notes MNA President Chris Rubesch. \u201cI\u2019m happy we\u2019ll have more highly educated nurses, but we need to keep them in the workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says members have told him they\u2019ve left because of burnout, working conditions and pay issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t just continue to put in without listening to the workers who are currently working,\u201d Rubesch explains. \u201cOtherwise, you\u2019re not plugging the hole \u2014 we\u2019re just putting more water into the bucket.\u201d<\/p>\n
The latest state data shows there are more than 169,000 active nursing licenses in Minnesota. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Hospital Association released a statement welcoming Zeleznikar\u2019s effort: \u201cHospitals have made extensive efforts to build nursing capacity in recent years, and that has paid off with rising numbers of nurse licenses in Minnesota. The bill supports the next generation of nurses, would help more Minnesotans into that workforce pipeline, and helps improve health care access for everyone in the state.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zeleznikar says her bill<\/a> passed in the committee with bipartisan support. Now she says it could be heading to a vote on the House floor.<\/p>\n She acknowledges it\u2019s a small start but is hoping for more funding in coming years.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople want to know you\u2019re going to get health care regardless of your ZIP code,\u201d Zeleznikar says. \u201cAnd so if you\u2019re in an ambulance, you\u2019re going into a hospital or nursing home, you need solid health care across the state, and nursing is a fundamental piece.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor Related Stories:\u00a0Minnesota Legislature<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Nursing<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Richard Reeve<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0University of Minnesota<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are both high hopes and big concerns at the Center for Nursing Equality and Excellence at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253,18487,5569,6398,31771],"class_list":["post-536109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-minnesota-legislature","tag-nursing","tag-richard-reeve","tag-university-of-minnesota"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}