Letter from the Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief, of which ANNA is a member, to the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies requesting at least $175 million in funding for Nursing Workfo...
June 6, 2006
Representative Ralph Regula
Chairman
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Regula:
As you begin mark up on the Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriations bill, the Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief (ANSR) Alliance asks you to remember the critical role that registered nurses play in our nations health care system. With an estimated 2.9 million licensed registered and advanced practice registered nurses (RNs and APRNs), nurses represent the largest occupational group of health care workers and provide patient care in virtually all locations in which health care is delivered.
The ANSR Alliance is comprised of fifty-one national nursing organizations united to identify and promote creative strategies for addressing the nursing and nurse faculty shortages. ANSR requests at least $175 million in funding for Nursing Workforce Development Programs under Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in FY 2007.
Enacted in 2002, the Nurse Reinvestment Act (NRA) included new and expanded initiatives, including loan forgiveness, scholarships, career ladder opportunities, and public service announcements to advance nursing as a career. Despite the positive accomplishments posted under NRA, HRSA fails to have the resources necessary to meet the current and growing demands for our nations nursing workforce. For example, in FY 2005, HRSA received 4,465 applications for the Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program but had the funds to award only 18% (803) of all applicants. Also in FY 2005, HRSA received nearly 3,500 applications for the Nursing Scholarship Program but only had funding to support a mere 6% (210) of all applicants.
After years of declining interest in nursing as a profession, we are seeing the opposite occur. Many Americans have come to find nursing an attractive career. A common theme emerging among prospective nursing students is a concern of facing waiting periods of up to three years before matriculating due to the growing nursing faculty shortage. When all nursing programs are considered, the number of qualified applications turned away during the 2004-2005 academic year was estimated to be more than 147,000 by the National League for Nursing. Without sufficient support for current nurse faculty and adequate incentives to encourage more nurses to become faculty, nursing schools will fail to have the teaching infrastructure necessary to educate and train the next generation of nurses that the nation so desperately needs.
ANSR stands ready to work with policymakers in order to sustain and strengthen our nations nursing workforce. In order to ensure that our nation has sufficient and adequately prepared nurses who will provide quality care to Americans, ANSR advocates for at least $175 million in funding for Title VIII - Nursing Workforce Development Programs in FY 2007. Thank you.
Sincerely,
The ANSR Alliance
Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses
American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
American Association of Critical Care Nurses
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
American College of Nurse Practitioners
American Society for Pain Management Nursing
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses
American Nephrology Nurses' Association
American Radiological Nurses Association
American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses
Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing
Association of Womens Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Dermatology Nurses' Association
Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association
Emergency Nurses Association
Infusion Nurses Society
International Society of Nurses in Genetics
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
National Association of Nurse Massage TherapistsNational Association of Orthopaedic Nurses
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Black Nurses Association
National Conference of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners
National Council of State Boards of Nursing
National League of Nursing
National Gerontological Nursing Association
Oncology Nursing Society
Society for Vascular Nursing
Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates
Urologic Nurses and Associates
Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society