[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE NURSE EDUCATION PROMOTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2002

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, this week is National Nurses Week, and I am 
pleased today to join my good friend Ernie Fletcher in introducing 
important legislation that helps address the nursing shortage. Nurses 
constitute the nation's largest group of healthcare professionals. They 
serve in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, managed care facilities and 
community health centers, and their work is invaluable.
  Unfortunately, there is an emerging labor shortage among this group 
of healthcare professionals. Fewer and fewer people are choosing 
nursing as a career. According to the General Accounting Office, 
between 1993 and 1996 enrollments at two-year associate degree programs 
dropped 11%, while enrollments at three-year diploma programs dropped 
42%. Between 1995 and 1998, enrollments at four-year bachelors programs 
dropped 19%. Even so, the demand for nurses is increasing, and it will 
only grow as the baby boomers retire. The Congressional Research 
Service projects that the supply of nurses will fail to meet demand by 
2010.
  This crisis threatens to compromise the quality of healthcare in this 
country. Indeed, the Department of Health & Human Services reports that 
there is a ``strong and consistent relationship'' between nurse 
staffing and patient health. The GAO reports that between 2000 and 
2030, the group of Americans who are 65 years of age and older will 
double. At the same time, the number of women between 25 and 54--the 
group that traditionally comprises most of the nursing workforce--is 
expected to remain the same. Mr. Speaker, more than ever we need nurses 
to care for our seniors. Unless we create incentives and opportunities 
for men and women to choose nursing as a career, this country will face 
a crisis in this decade.
  To address this problem, my friend Ernie Fletcher and I have today 
introduced the bipartisan Nurse Education Promotion Act. Our bill 
addresses the nursing shortage in a number of important ways. First, it 
would establish a competitive grant program for associate degree 
nursing schools to be used for nursing student recruitment, student 
scholarships, and the hiring of faculty. Second, the bill would 
establish a competitive grant program for professional nurses 
associations, so that they may establish and administer continuing 
education programs, in cooperation with area hospitals and higher 
education institutions.
  Under the continuing education programs, the nurses association would 
coordinate class work at a central location for which nurses could 
receive college credit towards a BSN (or equivalent degree) and/or 
training in an understaffed and critical nursing specialty. The 
clinical portion of the continuing education could be done at any of 
the participating hospitals.
  While we support other legislation to alleviate the nursing shortage, 
we believe that by focusing on the two-year schools our bill gets 
nurses into the field more quickly. By providing money for continuing 
education, we hope to ensure that nurses are able to meet the changing 
and increasingly complex demands of our healthcare system. We hope our 
colleagues will join us in our efforts to alleviate the nursing 
shortage and head off a major healthcare crisis that is just on the 
horizon.

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