Nursing workforce shortages are being felt nationwide. COVID-related burnout, Baby Boomer retirements, an inadequate pool of educators for the next generation of domestic nurses, and a visa freeze on foreign-educated nurses are straining facilities’ limits. One workforce study estimated that the U.S. healthcare system would be short 450,000 bedside nurses in the next year (McKinsey & Company, May 11, 2022).
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development recently created a model that predicts a 23,000 nurse-to-patient gap by 2040. “That creates a big challenge because nurses fill so many roles in the healthcare workforce,” Wisconsin Hospital Association Senior Vice President of Workforce and Clinical Practice Ann Zenk told WBAY Channel 2 News. The state expects the need for extended care nurses to increase to 110 percent.
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In Delaware, shortages are being most felt in acute and long-term care settings. Currently, there are 11 nurses for every 1,000 people in the state. Christopher Otto, a registered nurse and the Delaware Nurses Association executive director, told WHYY the demand for nurses is widespread. “More demands are being put on nurses in these environments as other resources are being cut [or] drawn back because of budget constraints.” To address the gap, the state is launching the ‘Tuition Incentive Program’ to attract workers to become certified nursing assistants. The state pays tuition costs, and once certified, participants become state employees and will be placed in one of four hospitals or nursing homes.
Otto told WHYY the additional CNAs will free up LPNs and RNS “to do the work within their scope of practice more completely.”
To put the shortage in perspective, Nurse Journal recently compiled data comparing each state’s population and the registered nurses working in the state to provide an overview of the shortage on a national scale. Overall, there are 9.22 nurses per 1000 people. Utah has the lowest rate, with 6.75 nurses per 1000 people, and Washington, D.C., has the highest rate, with 17.59 nurses per 1000.
Healthcare facilities are currently experiencing an uptake in flu and COVID cases with the new JN.1 variant, increasing the pressure on an already strained workforce.
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