PRINTER'S NO. 1209
No. 85 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY BOSCOLA, KUKOVICH, ORIE, MUSTO, COSTA, TARTAGLIONE, GREENLEAF, SCHWARTZ, BELL, ERICKSON, RHOADES, EARLL AND MELLOW, JUNE 14, 2001
REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, JUNE 14, 2001
A RESOLUTION 1 Requesting the Department of Health to study the underlying 2 causes and impact of the shortage of nurses in this 3 Commonwealth. 4 WHEREAS, The 2.2 million actively employed nurses comprise 5 our nation's largest health care profession; and 6 WHEREAS, By 2020 the demand for nursing services in this 7 Commonwealth and nationwide will far outstrip the supply of 8 nursing services; and 9 WHEREAS, The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently listed 10 nursing as one of the top 40 growth professions for the next ten 11 years and projected a need for 2.6 million working registered 12 nurses by 2005, an additional 800,000 registered nurses; and 13 WHEREAS, The nation's registered nurse work force is aging 14 significantly, with the number of full-time equivalent 15 registered nurses per capita forecast to peak around 2007 and 16 decline steadily thereafter; and 17 WHEREAS, A 2000 Honesty and Ethics poll conducted by the 18 Gallup Organization indicated that for the second year in a row
1 the American public rated nursing as the field with the highest 2 standards of honesty and ethics, and 79% of Americans stated 3 that nurses have very high or high ethical standards; and 4 WHEREAS, According to a 1989 study published by the New 5 England Journal of Medicine, hospitals with more registered 6 nurses on staff and higher ratios of nurses to patients had 6.3 7 fewer deaths per 1,000 patients than hospitals without those 8 characteristics; and 9 WHEREAS, A January 2001 American Nurses Association Staffing 10 Survey reveals that registered nurses find deteriorating working 11 conditions are linked to decline in the quality of nursing care: 12 75% of nurses surveyed felt the quality of nursing care at the 13 facility in which they work declined over the past two years, 14 56% believed the time available for patient care decreased, more 15 than 40% said they would not feel comfortable having a family 16 member or someone close to them receive care in the facility in 17 which they work, and more than 54% stated they would not 18 recommend the profession to their children or their friends; and 19 WHEREAS, According to preliminary findings in "The National 20 Sample Survey of Registered Nurses," fewer young adults are 21 entering the nursing profession, with data for 2000 showing only 22 9.1% under 30 years of age, representing a decline from 25.1% in 23 1980; and 24 WHEREAS, The survey found that in 1980 40.5% of registered 25 nurses were under 35 years of age, compared to 18.3% in 2000; 26 and 27 WHEREAS, In addition the survey found that only 82% of 28 registered nurses are licensed in individual states to practice 29 their profession; and 30 WHEREAS, Health care experts are concerned that a national 20010S0085R1209 - 2 -
1 nursing shortage could become pervasive later in the decade, 2 just as the aging population requires more care; and 3 WHEREAS, A shortage of nurses presently plagues hospitals all 4 over the Philadelphia region; and 5 WHEREAS, The diversion of ambulances carrying individuals 6 with conditions that are not life-threatening was once primarily 7 a problem of urban hospitals, which have the most trauma and 8 low-income patients, but now the diversion problem is so 9 widespread in suburban and even rural areas that state health 10 officials from Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey have 11 recently discussed the issue in a conference call; and 12 WHEREAS, The reasons for increasingly frequent overloads at 13 hospitals reflect deep changes in the health care system and the 14 patient population; and 15 WHEREAS, A shortage of nurses affects hospital staffing; and 16 WHEREAS, Hospitals are not attracting enough new nurses or 17 maintaining the current nurse work force at a level to keep pace 18 with the growth in demand for nursing services; and 19 WHEREAS, A survey conducted 15 years ago by the American 20 Health Care Association found that over 50% of the responding 21 facilities had problems filling nursing vacancies; and 22 WHEREAS, The shortage of nurses is particularly acute in 23 long-term care settings where the main problem in attracting new 24 nurses to long-term care is centered around wages; therefore be 25 it 26 RESOLVED, That the Senate request the Department of Health to 27 conduct a study of the underlying causes and impact of the 28 shortage of nurses in this Commonwealth; and be it further 29 RESOLVED, That the Department of Health prepare a report with 30 findings and recommendations to be submitted to the Governor and 20010S0085R1209 - 3 -
1 the General Assembly within six months of the adoption of this 2 resolution. E24L82BIL/20010S0085R1209 - 4 -