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"As the baby boomers grow older, Illinois faces the challenge of
providing for their growing demands on the health care system while
also making up for the retirement of a generation of nurses,"
Blagojevich said. "Nurses play an essential role. They're on the
front lines and have the most direct and continuing contact with
patients. We have to find ways to fill the nursing shortage, and
this new legislation will help us get there." The number of
potential caregivers, including nurses, is projected to decrease 4.2
percent between 2000 and 2020, while the number of those who need
care is projected to increase by 31 percent. All told, by 2020
Illinois could be facing a shortage of over 21,000 nurses. According
to region-by-region numbers put together by the Illinois Department
of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the state currently has a
nursing shortage of 7 percent -- vacancies versus jobs filled -- and
that shortage is projected to grow to almost 8,000 registered nurses
and 1,200 licensed practical nurses (per year, projected through
2010).
"We've heard a lot in recent years about getting doctors to come
to or stay in Illinois, but we haven't talked enough or done enough
to encourage the nursing field," said Lang, sponsor of House Bill
4279. "I look forward to working with the governor and nursing
organizations to establish a plan that anticipates and prepares for
the future health care needs of our state."
"This bill is critical because it acknowledges that one of the
causes of the nursing shortage is the lack of nursing faculty," said
Ronen, sponsor in the Senate. "By providing grants to nursing
schools, we can ensure that quality nurses are produced for the
state of Illinois."
The governor's plan will address the shortage in a number of
ways:
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Development of
the Center for Nursing: The Illinois Center for Nursing
would be established within the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation, charged with goals such as developing a
strategic plan for nursing manpower in Illinois, maintaining a
database on nursing supply and demand, and creating nursing
retention and recruitment initiatives.
-
Nursing
educator scholarships: Since every additional faculty member
in nursing can add 10 more nurses to the work force, the Center
for Nursing would also be charged with the creation of a nursing
education scholarship that will make pursuing a career in
nursing education more attractive and more affordable in the
state of Illinois. This year's budget includes $1.3 million for
these scholarships.
-
Grants to
nursing schools: Capacity in nursing colleges around the
country is reaching the breaking point. In fact, over 26,000
qualified applicants were turned away from
baccalaureate-granting nursing programs in the United States
because of faculty shortages, crowded clinical facilities and
funding shortfalls. In Illinois, over 1,100 qualified applicants
were not admitted. In order to increase the number of faculty,
and the number of graduating nurses as a result, Illinois would
make competitive grants available to nursing schools. These
could be used to hire more faculty members or create evening or
weekend training programs, among other options. In fiscal 2007,
a $1.5 million grant would be available to nursing schools to
increase the number of graduating nurses, as well as $150,000
for 15 nurse educator fellowships that would supplement faculty
salaries.
-
Changes to
existing nursing scholarship program: The legislation would
amend the existing nursing education scholarship law to allow
merit, in addition to financial need, to be taken into
consideration when determining recipients of the nursing
scholarship. Merit is to be shown through measures such as
grade-point average, class rank, academic and extracurricular
activities. Taking merit into account in awarding these
scholarships will improve the successful completion rate of
nursing education programs as well as helping Illinois produce
high-quality nurses.
-
Student loan
repayment for nurse educators: The legislation contains
provisions for a future loan forgiveness program for those who
choose to become nursing faculty. The Illinois Nurse Educator
Loan Repayment Program, through the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission, would be an incentive for nurses to become
educators. The program will allow current nurse educators, or
those in a master's level or Ph.D. program to become nurse
educators, to receive $5,000 in student loan forgiveness a year
for up to four years. For every year of student loan forgiveness
they receive, they must work for one year as a nurse educator in
Illinois. The program will be up and running by fiscal 2008.
In order to eliminate the nursing shortage, approximately $3
million to $5 million a year would be spent on these programs
through 2020, for a total of about $50 million.
"The Illinois Nurses Association is keenly aware of the magnitude
of the nursing shortage in Illinois and applauds the governor's
vision in investing in nursing and health care in the state," said
Kathleen Perry, R.N., Ph.D., president of the Illinois Nurses
Association. "The governor's proposal will address the immediate
need to increase nurse educators in the state, but it goes even
further. In creating an Illinois Center for Nursing, the governor's
proposal shows his commitment to health care by addressing the
issues of supply and demand in the nursing profession."
[to top of second column] |
 "The Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing is delighted
with the governor's proposal," said Gail Van Kanegan, A.P.N., N.P.,
president of the Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nurses. "We
in nursing have recognized the shortage of nurse educators. With the
creation of a Nurse Educator Scholarship, opportunities will be
provided for those pursing a graduate degree to enter the nurse
educator profession."
"The nursing shortage is endangering the safety of patients and
driving up the costs of health care -- making creative solutions an
imperative," said Joan L. Shaver, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., dean of the
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. "The governor
is to be commended for a 'multipronged approach.' Capacity-building
for nursing schools, accelerating success of students through
strengthened scholarships and investing in a strategic future
through a Center for Nursing stand to produce synergistic
and critically needed outcomes."
"The governor's proposal recognizes the need to address critical
issues in nursing for the state of Illinois," said Nancy Ridenour,
Ph.D., R.N., A.P.R.N., B.C., F.A.A.N., dean of the Mennonite College
of Nursing at Illinois State University. "It is very difficult to
project nursing work force needs when there is no central data bank
in the state. The Center for Nursing will provide opportunities to
centralize work force-related issues and assist colleges of nursing
in coordinating and collaborating with each other to provide
comprehensive nursing education throughout the state. In addition,
the Nurse Educator Scholarship and the addition of merit to the
nursing scholarship criteria both support the need to increase the
numbers of nursing faculty."
The governor has initiated several other steps to both retain
nurses who are already practicing and bring more nurses to Illinois.
These include:
-
Critical Skills
Shortage Initiative: The governor made a commitment in his
2005 State of the State speech to address the shortage of health
care workers through his Critical Skills Shortage Initiative. A
total of $18 million is being invested statewide to ensure that
every region of the state has a well-trained and equipped work
force in the health care industry. Through an innovative
approach that is currently being replicated by Indiana, local
work force investment boards, area employers, economic
development professionals, educators and service providers are
developing individualized strategies to address local employment
needs and to get more health care professionals into the work
force.
-
Establishing
the Nursing Education Scholarship Program: The Nursing
Education Scholarship Program has increased its effectiveness
with additional funding included in the reauthorization of the
Nursing Practice Act, signed by Blagojevich in 2004. The act
increased the percentage of license fees that is transferred
into the scholarship program. In 2006, there will be $1.2
million -- an increase of $450,000 -- to provide approximately
150 students with financial assistance to pursue an associate
degree in nursing, an associate degree in applied sciences in
nursing, a hospital-based diploma in nursing, a baccalaureate
degree in nursing, a graduate degree in nursing or a certificate
in practical nursing.
-
Streamlining
the license process: Through a coordinated effort by the
governor's office, the Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation, and the Illinois State Police, 800 nurse-licensing
applications were reviewed and approved since the governor's
announcement in the State of the State address. Since 2001,
Illinois has required nursing professionals to submit to a
background check as part of the application process. A backlog
of more than 1,800 applications had built up since the law was
enacted. Both the Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation and the Illinois State Police have developed
comprehensive guidelines for dealing with licensed fingerprint
vendors to ensure that backlogs do not recur in the future.
-
Keeping nurses
in Illinois: A new law enables advanced practice nurses to
be licensed in more than one specialty without having multiple
graduate degrees as long as they have the educational and
clinical experience to be nationally certified. This encourages
highly trained advanced practice nurses to stay in Illinois by
making it easier for them to advance in their careers.
-
Establishing a
first-in-the-nation externship program: Nurses who are
licensed under the laws of another state or territory of the
U.S., primarily from Puerto Rico, who wish to practice in
Illinois and are preparing to take the National Council
Licensure Examination, are now allowed to work under the direct
supervision of a registered professional nurse licensed in
Illinois while they are enrolled in a course that prepares them
for the licensure exam and acclimates them to nursing and health
care delivery in our state. This increases diversity within the
nursing profession and prepares nurses educated in a U.S.
territory for practice in Illinois.
[News release from the governor's
office] |
