Illinois to participate in national summit on nursing shortage

Solutions include expanded nursing education capacity

CHICAGO – Illinois was selected by AARP, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to participate in the first Nursing Education Capacity Summit in Washington, D.C. June 26 & 27. The goal of the Summit is to identify solutions to the nurse faculty shortage that is forcing nursing schools to turn away thousands of qualified nursing candidates each year.

The Summit comes at a critical time for nursing. Latest surveys project that Illinois could face a nursing shortage of 21,000 by 2020. 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.

“Illinois is working hard to improve its capacity for nursing education and expanding opportunities for men and women to work as nurses in our state,” said Daniel E. Bluthardt, Director, Division of Professional Regulation, Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). “Governor Blagojevich has directed his Cabinet members to develop a state-wide plan to reduce nursing shortages in Illinois through a regional public-private approach that aligns state and regional resources to address major causes of shortages at each stage of the nursing workforce development pipeline.”

“Illinois has a new nursing center dedicated to finding solutions for the predicted nursing shortfall, thanks to the leadership of Governor Blagojevich.  This conference is a great opportunity to share our best practices and learn from our colleagues in other states,” said Michele Bromberg, Chairperson, Illinois Center for Nursing.

Currently, the supply of new nurses is failing to keep pace with rising patient demand, in part because a significant number of interested and qualified nursing school applicants have been turned away in recent years due to a growing shortage of nursing faculty. Summit participants will identify and develop approaches to improving nursing education capacity – with the ultimate goal of reversing the persistent nursing shortage that could leave the United States without enough nurses.

AARP recognizes the important role that states play; they are where the rubber meets the road in terms of health care delivery,” said Senior Vice President of the AARP Public Policy Institute and Chief Strategist for the Center to Champion Nursing in America Susan Reinhard.  The Center to Champion Nursing in America is a joint initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Nurses play a significant role in reducing medical errors and improving health care quality, which is why we urgently need to find solutions to address both the shortage of nurses and the shortage of faculty to educate them,” Reinhard added.

 “The time to simply talk about the problem is over,” said RWJF Senior Program Officer Susan Hassmiller.  “What’s essential now is to fundamentally rethink how nurses are and should be educated and how they should be deployed in the workforce.  The experiences of these states offer the best hope for achieving these goals.”

Illinois will send a team of multi stakeholders to the Summit including: Julio Rodriguez, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Mary Anne Kelly, Vice President MCHC; Kathy Lively, Connect SI; Brenda Jeffers, Partners in Nursing for Central Illinois at Illinois State University; Donna Meyer, IL Organization for Associate Degree Nursing; Dale Beatty, CNO, Northwest Community Hospital; Bridget Lusk, NIU; Susan Campbell, Chief Nurse Executive, St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, IL, Ada Mary Guggenheim, Chicago Community Trust, and Michele Bromberg, Chairperson, Illinois Center for Nursing.

Other states participating include: AL, CA, CO, FL, HI, MA, MD, MI, MS, NC, ND, NJ, OR, SC, TX, VA and WI.  They will share best practices and focus on four key areas: strategic partnerships and resource alignment; policy and regulation; increasing faculty capacity and diversity; and education redesign.  

The AARP Foundation is AARP’s affiliated charity. Foundation programs provide security, protection and empowerment for older persons in need. Low-income older workers receive the job training and placement they need to re-join the workforce. Free tax preparation is provided for low- and moderate-income individuals, with special attention to those 60 and older. The Foundation’s litigation staff protects the legal rights of older Americans in critical health, long-term care, consumer and employment situations. Additional programs provide information, education and services to ensure that people over 50 lead lives of independence, dignity and purpose. Foundation programs are funded by grants, tax-deductible contributions and AARP.   For more information visit www.aarp.org/foundation

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change.  For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.