Committee to make nurse recruiting recommendations before Governor Andy Beshear
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The main issue on the team Kentucky Nursing Advisory Committee is how to retain and recruit nurses.
The group is made up of nurses, some practicing still and others are directors of programs.
They have been creating a document they’ll present to Governor Andy Beshear.
“Our challenge right now is having bodies coming through the door,” said Timothy Vino, the President Leading Age Kentucky.
It’s no secret that the state, like the rest of the nation is, and has been, facing a major nursing shortage.
“We’re seeing hospitalizations dramatically fall. The DPH would say there’s still a whole lot of people in the hospital, but we’re moving in the right direction,” said Governor Andy Beshear.
Even so, nurses aren’t rushing back in droves to work in hospitals in the Commonwealth.
“This is a no brainer. It doesn’t cost anything. But we at least could certainly benefit from getting 2,000 nurses back in Kentucky,” said Delanor Manson, with the Kentucky Nurses Association.
“We also have a number of nurses who are currently living and working in Kentucky in other jobs who would certainly work as nurse practitioners if this barrier was removed,” said Mary Bennett, the Director of WKU School of Nursing and Allied Health.
Those on the Team Kentucky Nursing Advisory Committee have a number of recommendations and requests for Governor Andy Beshear. One they believe to be a quick solution to recruiting two thousand nurses instantly, is the passage of Senate Bill 78.
“This isn’t going to take anything out of the taxpayers budget. It will make healthcare more accessible for the people of Kentucky and get more nurses back into the workforce pretty quickly,” said Bennett.
The bill removes a CAPA-CS requirement for Advanced Practitioner Nurses, which would make it easier for them to prescribe controlled substances without having to become recertified every few years.
“The most important thing is the quickly. Competence quickly,” said Manson.
The group will present their list of recommendations to the Governor’s office in March.
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