Monday, March 03, 2008
Lt. Governor Judge Releases Findings Of The Iowa Nursing Task Force
DES MOINES – Today, Lt. Governor Patty Judge released the findings of the Iowa Nursing Task Force.
“It is a known fact that Iowa’s nurses face many challenges,” said Lt. Governor Judge. “Nurses’ pay remains among the lowest in the nation, and the outlook for new nurses to replace those retiring is poor. I am proud of the members of this task force for the open and honest discussions which gave the issues our nurses face a thorough and complete look. Because of their hard work, we now have a roadmap to improving the lives of our nurses and improving health care for all Iowans.”
During his “Condition of the State” Address in January, Governor Culver called for the creation of the Iowa Nursing Task Force – to be chaired by Lt. Governor Judge -- to address challenges facing Iowa’s nurses, such as low wages and a lack of workers.
The report made the following recommendations:
- Develop a Health Workforce Center to be a focal point for nurse workforce data and measures.
- Expand programs in public and private sectors to provide forgivable loans and scholarships for nursing education at all levels.
- Increase the number of nursing faculty through innovative employment, strengthening recruitment efforts and increasing salaries.
- Increase efficiency and effectiveness of education programs and improve their ability to provide easy transitions from community colleges to the private nursing colleges and state universities.
- Build a strategy for private investment in nursing by encouraging endowed chairs and program endowments to foster more nurses seeking advanced degrees.
- Foster Iowa’s rural voice to assure that those unique challenges and health situations are recognized and addressed as part of each health strategy.
- Encourage public sector health facilities employing nurses to increase nursing wages to meet national salary averages.
Governor Culver and Lt. Governor Judge will now review the recommendations of the Iowa Nursing Task Force, and look at what steps can be taken during the current and future legislative sessions to address the challenges affecting Iowa’s nurses.