LIHUE — With a severe shortage of nurses in Hawaii and throughout the country, some hospitals are finding it challenging to fully meet the medical needs of their communities.
“There are a lot of shortage of nurses on our island,” said Jennifer Mariano, human resources specialist with Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital. “It’s been difficult to find qualified candidates with experience, even with people at the entry level as well.”
The Westside hospital, along with others across the state, are having difficulty recruiting for specialty-type positions, such as those with experience working in the emergency room and intensive care units.
The Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital and its sister hospital, Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital, together have about a dozen openings for full-time licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, part-time per diem and on-call positions. Wilcox Medical Center also has a need for registered nurses, specifically in the field of perioperative services.
“It’s been an ongoing battle for us to recruit nursing staff,” Mariano said.
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, co-chair of the House Nursing Caucus, announced support for bipartisan legislation to address the shortage of nurses.
The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act would direct Medicare-participating hospitals to develop staffing plans that ensure an adequate number of nurses to meet patient needs and improve patient safety.
“Nurses are the driving force of our health-care system, providing top-notch health care while ensuring patient safety and comfort,” Gabbard said. “Unfortunately too many hospitals, especially in our rural and underserved communities, face a nursing shortage — putting patient lives and health at risk and driving up hospital costs.”
Without adequate registered nurse staffing, patients are at higher risk for prolonged hospital stays, increased infections, avoidable medication errors, falls, injuries, and even death.
“Adding nurses to hospital staffing plans would help to dramatically prevent hospital deaths, reduce infections and hospital readmissions, and save hospitals nearly $3 billion,” Gabbard said. “Our bipartisan legislation will support and empower nurses in Hawaii and across the country to deliver quality health care for all.”
Gabbard serves as co-chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus with Ohio Rep. David Joyce and joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act in February 2017.
“As a husband of a nurse, I have experienced first-hand the many challenges and responsibilities nurses face on a day-to-day basis,” Joyce said. “Ensuring patient safety and care has always been a priority but has faced many challenges when nurses are overworked and hospitals are understaffed.”
The bipartisan legislation would reauthorize federal funding for nursing workforce and education programs to help grow and support nurses across the nation.
The Safe Staffing for Nurse and Patient Safety Act empowers direct care nurses to determine the unique and variable needs of their patients to ensure the safety and quality outcomes of care.
According to the Hawaii State Center for Nursing’s 2017 Nursing Workforce Report, four out of five nurses plan to stay in their current position for at least the next year, while only 3 percent intend to retire in the next year.
