FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2001
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Cindy Price, 202-651-7038
Hope Hall, 202-651-7027
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American Nurses Association Applauds Introduction of Nurse Reinvestment Act in Congress
Washington, DC -- The American Nurses Association applauds the introduction this week of The Nurse Reinvestment Act in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The legislation, which comprises two companion bills, S. 706 and H.R. 1436, was introduced in the Senate by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), James Jeffords (R-VT), Tom Daschle (D-SD), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and 18 other senators, and in the House by Reps. Lois Capps (D-CA), Sue Kelly (R-NY) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), along with 24 other representatives.
The proposed act establishes the National Nurse Service Corps, which would fund nurse scholarships; public service announcements; grants for continuing education, recruitment and training; enhanced loan repayment programs; scholarships, loans and stipends to encourage nursing faculty development; and increased Medicare and Medicaid funding for nurse education.
ANA President Mary Foley, MS, RN, hailed the introduction of the companion bills, stating they "will serve the dual purpose of attracting young people into nursing while also retaining current nurses who wish to further their education." Even more critical, Foley noted, "These bills will help counter a looming shortage of nurses that may soon reach crisis proportions, as the nation’s aging baby boom population begins placing greater demands on the U.S. health care system."
The growing nursing shortage has increasingly affected hospitals, home health agencies, nursing facilities and other providers across the nation. Areas hardest hit include emergency room, critical care, labor and delivery, and long-term care units.
Contributing to the shortage of nurses are several serious workplace issues -- including the use of mandatory overtime and other short-staffing practices -- which have led to a serious decline in working conditions and have driven increasing numbers of nurses away from acute-care settings.
Another cause of the shortage is a lack of young people entering the nursing profession. For example, enrollments in undergraduate nursing programs have declined 17 percent since 1995. And current projections show that the number of nurses per capita will fall 20 percent below requirements by the year 2020, largely as a result of increasing nurse retirements coupled with the impending health care needs of the aging baby boom generation.
"If nothing is done to address this shortage, America will soon find itself without adequate numbers of nurses to care for its rapidly aging population," Foley said. "That is why making a reinvestment in our nation's nurses is so crucial. The funding for education provided by this legislation will help to boost nursing school enrollments, and will also encourage existing nurses to go back to school and increase their levels of education."
Foley added that ANA is particularly pleased by the mix of reimbursement incentives, innovative recruitment techniques and funding for outreach and publicity contained in the bill. "One viable solution to the emerging nursing shortage lies in targeting and increasing our nation’s existing nurse population -- and this bill goes a long way toward achieving that aim," she said.
Foley also expressed optimism regarding this and other recent efforts in Congress to bolster the nursing profession in general. "It is my hope that, in the long run, Congress will act not only to help attract more nurses to the profession, but also to open up a greater public dialogue regarding establishing better working conditions for nurses -- so we can retain the new nurses we recruit."
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The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's nearly 2.7 million Registered Nurses through its 54 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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