April 29, 2004

New Group Formed To Address Nursing Issues Facing Idaho

Editor’s note: May 6 is National Nurses Day and May 6-12 is National Nurses Week. Anticipating a shortage of nurses in the near future, two nursing organizations have come together to form a new organization and a research center aimed at recruiting, educating and retaining nurses. The Idaho Alliance of Leaders in Nursing (IALN) represents the merger of the Idaho Organization of Nurse Executives and the Idaho Commission on Nursing and Nursing Education. “Nurses play a vital role in the health and safety of Idaho residents,” said Carmen Brochu-Goecke, co-chair of the IALN and vice-president for patient care services at Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene. “The looming nursing shortage is of great concern as it is larger than any we have experienced before.” The collaborating nursing groups received $250,000 in earmarked Congressional funds and $900,000 in hospital-allocated nursing education funds to begin these projects. The IALN is in the process of hiring an executive director to oversee projects and the newly formed Idaho Nursing Workforce Center. The Idaho Nursing Workforce Center is being set up to collect data for the state of Idaho on the nursing work force and to provide expert consultation on nursing work force issues. The Center will be located within the department of nursing at Boise State University. The Workforce Center will hire a researcher and expects to be running by fall. The data collected and analyzed by the Center will provide nursing leaders and health-care providers in Idaho with expertise in work force planning. “Increasing the supply of nurses in Idaho will be one of the Center’s main goals,” said Kathleen Nelson, IALN co-chair and health professions division manager at Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls. “Work force development issues must be addressed to avoid a public health crisis and ensure quality health care for Idaho residents.” Although current staffing levels of nurses in Idaho are considered adequate, a severe shortage is expected soon as today’s nurses retire or leave the work force, concurrent with an increasing demand for health-care services as the U.S. population ages. Nationally, the average age of registered nurses is 44, and fewer young people are choosing nursing as a career. By 2020, Idaho is expected to have only 40 percent of the nurses needed to care for the health needs of the state’s population. To help state leaders address this looming crisis, IALN will provide information on recruitment and retention strategies that work, up-to-date supply and demand data for nurses, and workforce projection data to guide policy making. For more information about IALN and the Workforce Center contact co-chairs Carmen Brochu-Goecke at 208 666-2006 or Kathleen Nelson at 208 524-3000 Ext. 3340. -30- Contact Pam Springer Department of Nursing Boise State University 208 426-3600 pspring@boisestate.edu Carmen Brochu-Goecke Idaho Alliance of Leaders in Nursing 208 666-2006 Kathleen Nelson Idaho Alliance of Leaders in Nursing 208 524-3000 Ext. 3340 Media contact Pat Pyke communications and marketing 208 426-1987 ppyke@boisestate.edu