Image by Yerson Retamal from Pixabay

June 27, 2023 - FRESNO, Calif. – In his continued efforts to address healthcare workforce challenges, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) has introduced H.R. 4328 – National Nursing Shortage Task Force Act, which would establish a federal task force to provide recommendations to Congress and the President to address the growing nursing shortage nationwide.  

“We have a nursing shortage in our country, fueled by the pandemic and burnout. As a result, hospitals and clinics are in crisis and rationing care because there are simply not enough nurses,” said Costa. “My legislation will help develop a roadmap to bolster the nursing workforce and improve access to care.”    

The United States is on the precipice of a catastrophic nursing shortage, with underserved communities like many in the San Joaquin Valley hit especially hard. It is projected that the United States will need 200,000 additional registered nurses (RNs) annually over the next decade. As the pandemic hit in 2020, the demand for nurses surged. This combined with other workforce challenges, including immense stress, burnout, and an overburdened healthcare system, have fueled the nursing shortage. 

The National Nursing Shortage Task Force would be made up of nursing experts, educators, healthcare professionals, and other individuals with relevant expertise in the nursing field.  It would have to the following tasks:

• Assessing, examining, and reporting on the nursing workforce capacity.

• Providing recommendations to the President and Congress to address the growing nursing shortage.

• Build upon existing or ongoing evaluations to bolster nursing education and the nursing workforce.

Members of the task force would need to be appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The livestream of the press conference is available here. 

The full text of the bill can be found here. 

A one-pager of the bill can be found here.
Source: Congressman Jim Costa