Implications of an Endless Nursing Shortage

Abstract

The severe U.S. nursing shortage continues to create difficulties for health care providers and consumers. The shortage of licensed nurses is further complicated by forces in the health care industry such as reimbursement reductions and the quest for quality improvement. While these efforts have a plus side, they also have unintended negative effects on a long-term care system that is at times struggling to meet critical resident needs while increasing its reporting obligations to government and improving administrative recordkeeping. The nursing shortage, while obviously widespread, also has added implications for certain providers, such as those practicing in rural areas. In such locales, salaries are typically lower than in metropolitan areas. For that and other reasons, it’s often difficult to attract new nurses to many locations. Further, while most nurse-training programs are located near metropolitan areas and the higher-paying jobs there, long-term care facilities are spread throughout rural areas as well as cities and suburbs. Many rural LTC facilities are finding themselves with acute nursing shortages. For a small rural facility, the loss of just a few staff members can have devastating effects.