Running head: POLICY ACTION PLAN 1

Policy Action Plan- Developing Nursing’s Workforce by Funding Nursing Education

Charlene Dover

Delaware Technical and Community College

NUR 420 Nursing Policy

POLICY ACTION PLAN 2

Problem

Many States today are facing nursing shortages, especially in the more rural areas, and

the shortage is growing daily due to increased healthcare demands. According to an Avant

healthcare study in 2017: an aging population of 75 million “baby boomers” is driving a demand

of healthcare services. An estimated 20 million people now have health insurance through The

Affordable Care Act, and in just one year over 1 million people are hospitalized or treated in an

Emergency Room related to an opioid issue.

According to a 2007 Success Story journal article titled “Hospitals and Philanthropy as

Partners in Funding Nursing Education” by Tim Henderson & Susan Hassmiller, the drive to

educate more nurses has been just one of the responses to the nation’s nursing shortage, which

was projected to reach 340,000 nurses by the year 2020. The healthcare demand is rising but the

number of new nurses has not, in part due to the funds for education becoming scarcer.

While researching the nursing shortage and developing nursing’s workforce by funding

education, I discovered programs at hospitals and other healthcare facilities that collaborate with

nursing schools in their respective states to help with funding and policies for education

programs to help get new nurses and retain their current nurses. Some of the examples are: Pilot

programs where students get tuition assistance from hospitals where they are guaranteed

employment upon completion, accelerated programs with dual enrollment where students can

bring in pre-requisites from any college of choice. In Detroit Michigan, metro hospitals

collaborate with nursing schools, funded through Ford Motor Company where student’s tuition is

covered, and the instruction is done by the health system (Henderson & Hassmiller, 2007).
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Stakeholders

Stakeholders are those directly impacted by specific policy decisions and that may be

involved in policy making process (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, & O'Grady, 2016). Once

important stakeholders are identified I will contact them to alert them to my concern and the

issue at hand. I will bring my concern of nurse shortage and the proposal of funding nursing

education to the stakeholders with the hopes of gaining their support to use their power to help

implement a solution.

 Local- large healthcare employers:

o Christiana Care- Nursing Education 623-4661

o Saint Francis-Nursing Education- 375-5758

o Bayhealth- Nursing Education 744-6722

I would contact the large healthcare employers in the State of

Delaware to see if they currently have any loan forgiveness programs,

pilot programs or other programs that can help recruit nurses.

 State of Delaware

o Delaware Board of Nursing-744-4500

o Delaware State Representative Bryan Shupe- 744-4171

o State of Delaware Governor Carney-577-3210

o Delaware Department of Education- 735-4000

I would contact the State of Delaware stakeholders to express my

concern of the nursing shortage and discuss the pending bills that could

help decrease the nursing shortage by funding the nursing workforce.

 National
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o National League of Nursing- 800-669-1656

o American Nurse Nurses Association- 800-274-4262

o American Association of Colleges for Nursing- 202-463-6930

Again, I would contact that National League of Nursing with the

concern of the nursing shortage and recommendations to ease the shortage

with education funding. I would press hard with these groups knowing

that committees prefer to deal with large, organized groups rather than

private individuals (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, & O'Grady, 2016).

Pending Laws/Proposals

Bill S. 1045 is a pending bill in the United States Congress that is sponsored by Indiana’s

senior Senator, Todd Young. Bill S. 1045 was introduced in April 2019 to amend the Public

Health Service Act to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to

permit nurses to practice in health care facilities with critical shortages of nurses through

programs for loan repayment and scholarships for nurses (Gov.Track.com). The lack of

qualified professionals will be addressed by incentivizing nurses to practice in the communities

where they are needed most and that nurses at health care facilities with critical nursing

shortages will also benefit from loan repayment programs.

According to Delaware.gov, House Bill 58 (HB 58) is an act to amend Title 14 of the

Delaware Code relating to the Delaware Nursing Incentive Program. HB 58 was sponsored by

Bryan Y. Shupe on 2/28/19. The synopsis of HB 58 is that the act will increase the numbers of

Delaware nursing students eligible for the nursing incentive program by allowing Delawareans

pursuing nursing careers at non-profit hospitals located in Delaware to be eligible for the

program.
POLICY ACTION PLAN 5

Strategies, Talking Points and Goals

My first strategy would be to diligently research my topic, Developing Nursing’s

Workforce by Funding Nursing Education, extremely thoroughly. While researching, I would

identify key stakeholders and pending bills, then I would arrange phone conversations and face

to face meetings. I would express my concerns and why I stand in support for House bill 58 as

well as Bill S. 1045. In the meetings my talking points would be:

 Background of the issue and urgency of nursing shortage

 Personal stories of the times that myself and coworker nurses have worked short-

staffed

 Reveal the amount of school loans we have, and why large outstanding loans

discourages further education

 Delay of entering the nursing program because of long wait lists

 Proposal of ideas to help the nursing shortage with nursing education funding

My goals will be to successfully present the awareness of the nursing shortage with clarity to the

stakeholders to gain their attention as well as gain their support to take political action. Health

policy is a cyclical process, is continuous, and highly dynamic (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, &

O'Grady, 2016). Because of the long process, to set my plan into action, I will start my research

and contacting stakeholders immediately. Each stage of policy formation has actions and of

course setbacks, but I will be prepared to be in it for the long haul of each phase.

Conclusion

Nursing shortages have a ripple effect. When nurse staffing is short, nurses must care for

more patients. Higher nurse-patient ratios can lead to errors and higher patient mortality.

Nursing shortage also leads to nurse burnout, low morale and high turnover rates, which also has
POLICY ACTION PLAN 6

a negative impact on patient satisfaction and care. My goal is to educate stakeholders about the

urgency of the nursing shortage crisis, hoping to receive political support for supporting

nursing’s workforce by funding nursing education. My hope is that receiving educational

funding will provide support for current nurses that are working shorthanded every day and leave

work feeling that their patients did not get their undivided attention and the time and attendance

they much desire and deserve.

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References

Avant Healthcare Professionals. (2017, December 12). What's Causing the Nurse Shortage.

Retrieved from https://avanthealthcare.com/blog/featured-posts/whats-causing-the-nurse-

shortage.stml

Delaware General Assembly. Retrieved from http://legis.delaware.gov/

GovTrack.us. (2020). S. 1045-116th Congress: Nursing Where It’s Needed Act. Retrieved from

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/s1045

Henderson, T. M., & Hassmiller, S. B. (2007). Hospitals and Philanthropy as Partners in Funding

Nursing Education. Success Stories, 25(2). Retrieved from

http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?

T=P&P=AN&K=24844802&S=R&D=hch&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESeqLU4yNfsO

LCmsEiep7VSsK24TLOWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGutk21rLBNuePfgeyx44

Dt6fIA

Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Outlaw, F. H., & O'Grady, E. T. (2016). Policy & Politics in

Nursing and Health Care. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier.

Nursing Workforce Development Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.amsn.org/sites/default/files/documents/practice-

resources/legislative/Nursing-Community-Programs-Brochure.pdf