The Pilot News

Rep. Jordan: New law will help fix nursing shortage

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National Nurses Week is May 6-12, and State Rep. Jack Jordan (R-bremen) supported a new law to help Indiana's health care heroes and alleviate the nursing shortage.

With 4,300 nursing job openings statewide, the new law supported by Jordan will boost the health care workforce pipeline by providing flexibilit­y to Indiana's nurses seeking licensure. He said in addition to current job openings, the state will need 5,000 additional nurses by 2031, and nursing programs need to increase their graduating classes by 1,350 each year to meet this need. The new law offers flexibilit­y to nursing programs and nurse educators to help meet workforce needs, and help nursing students working to obtain the required hours to be licensed.

"Nurses face new and difficult challenges every shift, and continue to work hard and provide care to patients," Jordan said. "This new law benefits Indiana and our communitie­s as we address the nursing staff shortage and provide flexibilit­y to nursing programs."

With the new law already in effect, nursing programs will be able to increase enrollment at faster rates and accept more clinical simulation hours, all while maintainin­g high-quality training for all nursing students. Jordan said the new law offers nursing students and registered nurses more freedom to grow and join the workforce, which is especially important as pandemic-related protocols prolonged the process for many nursing students seeking licensure.

Supporters of the law include hospital systems, nursing schools, long-term care facilities, the Indiana Nurses Associatio­n, Indiana Hospital Associatio­n and Indiana Health Care Associatio­n.

To learn more about HEA 1003, visit iga.in.gov.

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