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The Business of Health Care Report
Today, I'd like to turn our attention
to nurses and their critical role in health care. In the Metroplex alone, there are
tens of thousands of nurses. Many work in hospitals. Others work in physicians' offices.
Still others work in schools. No matter where they are employed, however, nurses often
are a first line of defense when it comes to health care. Who can imagine health care
without them? Early next month, a week is set aside
nationally to celebrate nurses. The week of May 6-12 will be filled with celebrations in
hospitals and other locations where nurses work. What I'd like to suggest today is that
National Nurses Week should be more than a time to thank nurses for their invaluable role
in health care. It should also remind us that the nursing profession - particularly in our own
state - is in trouble. According to the Texas Nurses Association, Texas has about 50,000
fewer nurses than the national average and ranks among the bottom five states in the number
of registered nurses per patient. In addition, the TNA reports that the
average age of an R.N. in Texas is about 46. Since most bedside nurses choose different
nursing responsibilities by the time they reach 52, Texas stands to lose 50 percent of its
currently employed bedside nurses within the next six to seven years. Why not just recruit more nurses, some
might ask. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Texas currently has 6,000 qualified nursing
school candidates on waiting lists because there aren't enough faculty members to teach them.
Nursing schools need more legislative funding to hire more faculty, and businesses that can
afford charitable donations should view schools of nursing as worthy beneficiaries. We should all honor nurses May 6-12 -
and vow that our best tribute to nursing will come when we have removed the shortage that
hangs over the profession. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO
Doug Hawthorne
with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio 1080 KRLD.
©
2004 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 