Pandemic demands registered nurses

The Legislative Council completed action on the Division of Developmental Disabilities’ request for 25 new registered nurse positions in exchange for surrendering 24 teacher assistant and 21 licensed practical nurse positions.

The division has 34 registered nurse positions and all are filled, with 24 working in a human development center and 10 working for another developmental disabilities program, state Personnel Administrator Kay Barnhill said in a letter to the personnel subcommittee’s co-chairmen. The division has 142 licensed practical nurse positions and 109 are filled, with all but one working in a human development center, she said.

“COVID and pre-pandemic day-to-day experience indicates that [human development center] clients are better served by an approximately 2:1 ratio of … licensed practical nurse positions to … registered nurse positions,” Barnhill wrote. “There is approximately a 4:1 ratio currently.

“Experience with COVID has demonstrated the need for every [center] to have at least one dedicated infectious disease control nurse,” she said.

The pay range for the registered nurse positions is $63,830 to $88,058 a year, Barnhill said. The cost of the 25 positions is about $1.6 million, with the federal government covering 70% and the state the rest, Barnhill said. The Department of Human Services believes there is sufficient funding to support the request.