Binghamton, NY – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the Decker School of Nursing and joined Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur, Dean of the Decker School of Nursing Joyce Ferrario, faculty members, students and others to discuss the nursing shortage facing many communities across New York State. Senator Clinton recently re-introduced the Nursing Education and Quality of Health Care Act with Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), which aims to increase the nurse workforce in rural areas, expand nursing school faculty, and develop initiatives to integrate patient safety practices into nursing education.

“By 2014, it is estimated that there will be a need for 1.2 million new and replacement nurses in the U.S. New York has faced a shortage and given current projections this shortage will likely increase,” said Senator Clinton. “This legislation is crucial to combating our nation’s nursing shortage and preventing it from turning into a crisis within our healthcare system. One of our greatest needs for nurses will be in areas like rural New York, where the pool of nurses is small and the loss of just one nurse from the workforce can have a profound impact on the health of the community. If we don’t act now, we run the risk of compromising quality and care, not only in rural and regional New York but across the country.”

The Nursing Education and Quality of Health Care Act of 2007 will provide funds for grants and programs in rural communities to encourage and enhance the recruitment and retention of nursing students, nursing faculty, and nurses who serve in rural areas. This legislation will fund projects that will increase the number of nursing faculty including programs that will improve recruitment, scholarships, educational preparation, and establish online courses and accelerated doctoral programs. This Act will also create demonstration projects that will integrate patient safety practices into nursing education programs and enhance the leadership of nurses in patient safety initiatives within their healthcare setting.

“We may be facing a nursing shortage today, but we are setting ourselves up for a nursing crisis if we don’t address this issue now. We need to do far more to support students who wish to pursue higher education and more for the nursing profession. It truly is a matter of the health of our people and the health of local economies. Nurses are part of the backbone of our healthcare system and our community and that is why it is essential that we take action now to help more people become nurses and practice the nursing profession, before it is too late,” Senator Clinton said.

One issue compounding the nursing shortage across the country is that schools are turning away qualified applicants due to the lack of faculty to train them. In 2000, New York had an 11 percent shortage of nurses and given current projections this shortage is likely to increase. Enhancing nursing education is imperative given recent studies linking highly educated nurses to better patient outcomes.

According to the Department of Labor, registered nurses currently constitute the largest healthcare occupation with 2.4 million jobs, and are projected to create the second largest number of new jobs among all occupations by the year 2014; it is estimated that there will be a need for 1.2 million new and replacement nurses in the United States.

The Nursing Education and Quality of Health Care Act is endorsed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Brooklyn Nursing Partnership, Oregon Nurses Association, and the New York State Area Health Education Center System. The legislation was first introduced by Senator Clinton during the 109th Congress.

In a related effort, last week Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced the Rural Students College, Career, and Community Readiness Act of 2007. This legislation will establish partnerships between non-profit entities and rural school districts to improve the educational and career outcomes of rural, low-income students. Under these partnerships, students in grades 7-12 will receive program workshops during the school day to develop career awareness and build leadership skills. Roughly one in four public schools is located in rural America. Studies have shown students attending these rural schools generally have lower educational aspirations and lower post-secondary achievement than their urban and suburban peers.

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