Nursing Institute

The Problem

Access and affordability of health care is on the mind of everyone today, especially the “baby boomers” who are focusing on retirement.  But a crisis is looming.  The United States is currently facing a severe shortage of registered nurses and the shortage is expected to intensify as future health care demands grow and intensify.  More than 1.2 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2014.  Ohio anticipates a shortfall of 32,000 nurses by 2020.  West Central Ohio mirrors these numbers.

At the present time, it is not possible to simply “ramp-up” educational institutions to prepare a million new nurses because a severe shortage of nursing faculty also exists.  According to AACN’s report on 2005-2006 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 41,683 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs (86,680 AAS applicants) in 2005 due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints.  Last year, 315 West Central Ohio nursing applications were denied access to programs for the same reasons.

The Solution

The Nursing Institute of West Central Ohio (NIWCO) has been created to develop a community of nurses and other key people in their 16-county service region that will support and facilitate quality health care for all citizens in West Central Ohio.  NIWCO is providing leadership and support to ensure that health care organizations have an adequate supply of highly skilled RNs and citizens will continue to have access to quality healthcare.  The key to meeting this challenge is superior recruitment and retention which are the cornerstones for all NIWCO activities. 

NIWCO is planning to design, build, and operate a unique world-class ©Nursing Workforce Research Living Laboratory (NWRLL) with the overarching goals to increase the supply of registered nurses and the satisfaction/retention of existing practicing nurses in their service area.   The NWRLL will contribute to high quality, safe, and effective healthcare services that match the demand of the West Central Ohio region.  A tangential benefit will be to entice health care related businesses to the area as they will be able to use the NWRLL as an evaluation site for new products. 

It is envisioned that the NWRLL will revolutionize the processes involved in the application of nursing practices, test the modalities for creating a healthy work environment, and provide a real world physical location for testing and training futuristic health related products.

Fast Facts

The Problem

• A rapid and drastic increase of retirees – “baby boom” generation reaches 65 in 2011

• Ever growing health care costs – increased health care insurance costs

• Severe and growing shortage of nurses

• Nationally, 1.2 million new and replacement nurses needed by 2014

• Nationally, 15% of nurses change jobs annually; locally this number is higher

• Nationally, 85% of hospital CEOs report that their top issue is the shortage of RN’s

• Ohio projects a shortage of 32,000 nurses by 2020

• High turnover rates of existing nurses

• Locally, 27% of existing nurses plan to leave their current position within 3 years

• High costs to replace a single RN

•  $42,000 for a medical/surgical RN

•  $64,000 for a specialty nurse

• Can’t simply educate more nurses because of a major shortage of nursing faculty

• Nationally, in 2005, nursing schools turned away 41,683 qualifying applications from BS and graduate programs and 86,680 AAS applicants due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints

• Locally, 315 nursing applicants were denied access for the same reasons

• Locally, 18% of faculty and 75% of Deans plan to retire within 3 years

The Solution

• The Nursing Institute of West Central Ohio (NIWCO) – 16 county service area

• Mission:  Provide support and leadership for an effective regional RN workforce through innovative partnerships in service, education and research

• Vision:  A nationally recognized regional RN workforce providing safe, accessible, quality healthcare

• Plan, design, build, and operate a unique world-class ©Nursing Workforce Research Living Laboratory (NWRLL)

• Objectives of the NIWCO:

• Conducting supply and demand studies

• Assisting in recruitment of students into nursing programs

• Assisting in recruiting and preparing adjunct/full time faculty

• Dealing with issues of cultural diversity and an aging RN workforce

• Focus areas for the NIWCO through the NWRLL:

• Assisting in recruiting registered nurses to the area

• Assisting in retaining existing West Central Ohio nurses

• Applying research outcomes to healthcare delivery settings and schools of nursing

• Provide a platform for educating the next generation of nurses and for testing new teaching/learning methodologies.

• Entice health care related businesses to the area

• Funding from NIWCO “Partners”, foundations, businesses, private donors, state/federal grants and appropriations.