Max Cleland: “Statistics from the National League of Nursing and the American Nurses' Association demonstrate the nursing workforce is…”

“Statistics from the National League of Nursing and the American Nurses' Association demonstrate the nursing workforce is shrinking. The Federal health sector, employing approximately 45,000 nurses, may be the hardest hit in the near future with an estimated 47 percent of its nursing workforce eligible for retirement in the year 2004. Current and anticipated nursing vacancies in Federal health care agencies are particularly alarming with the increased nursing care needs of an aging America. The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study last year which found the average age of the nursing workforce rose by 4.5 years between 1983 and 1998, mostly because fewer younger people are joining the profession. It is imperative that the Federal Health Care System recruit and retain nurses in such crucial areas as the Veterans Affairs Health Administration, Department of Defense, Public Health Service, Indian Health Service, and Federal Bureau of Prisons. Nursing shortages will result in major changes in the quality and type of care these agencies can provide to their beneficiaries. There are no quick fixes to recruiting and retaining registered nurses, but Congress must act now on identified problem areas. One identified measure which would help recruit and retain Federal nurses is to address employee benefits.”