As a result, both hospitals and the state government have taken steps to combat the shortage. The state tripled its funding for nursing education to $49.7 million for 2010-2011, according to the report.
Additionally, some Texas hospitals are finding unique ways to fund nursing education. Texas Health Resources, based in Arlington, Texas, provides tuition reimbursement for current non-clinical employees, such as building services workers, to obtain nursing degrees. In return, the new nurses must agree to work at a Texas Health Resources facility. After implementing the program, the health system’s nursing vacancy rate dropped from 5 percent to 2 percent, according to the report.
Nationwide, hospitals face shortages of 265,000 nurses by 2025 due to retiring baby boomer nurses coupled with nursing programs that have been forced to turn away applicants due to too few nursing instructors and clinical training sites, according to the report.
Read the Dallas Morning News report on the nursing shortage.
Read more Becker’s coverage on healthcare provider shortages.
– Hospital Association Hopes Healthcare Reform Can Ease Shortage of Pediatric Specialists
– As Population Ages, Geriatric Specialists in Short Supply
– Physician Shortages Impede Hospitals’ Service Line Development
