AHA Urging Congress and Biden Administration to Act on Labor Shortage

About 100,000 registered nurses left the workforce during the past two years due to stress, burnout and retirements, and another 610,388 reported an intent to leave by 2027, according to a study released today by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. 

“The pandemic has stressed nurses to leave the workforce and has expedited an intent to leave in the near future, which will become a greater crisis and threaten patient populations if solutions are not enacted immediately,” says Maryann Alexander, NCSBN chief officer of nursing regulation. “There is an urgent opportunity today for healthcare systems, policymakers, regulators and academic leaders to coalesce and enact solutions that will spur positive systemic evolution to address these challenges and maximize patient protection in care into the future.” 

Among other recommendations to strengthen the healthcare workforce, AHA has urged Congress and the Administration to invest in nursing schools, nurse faculty salaries and hospital training time; enact federal protections for healthcare workers against violence and intimidation; support apprenticeship programs for nursing assistants; increase funding for the National Health Service Corps and the National Nurse Corps; and support expedition of visas for foreign-trained nurses.