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Rep. Baird: Law will help fix nursing shortage

Monday, May 23, 2022

National Nurses Week was May 6-12, and State Rep. Beau Baird (R-Greencastle) supports a new law to help Indiana’s health care heroes and alleviate the nursing shortage.

With 4,300 nursing job openings statewide, Baird said the new law will boost the health care workforce pipeline by providing flexibility to Indiana’s nurses seeking licensure. In addition to current job openings, the state will need 5,000 additional nurses by 2031, and nursing programs need to increase their graduating classes by 1,350 each year to meet this need. The new law offers flexibility to nursing programs and nurse educators to help meet workforce needs, and help nursing students working to obtain the required hours to be licensed.

“Nurses made tremendous sacrifices during the pandemic, and the need for them continues to grow,” Baird said. “We want to ensure anyone who has the heart for this job can get their credentials without unnecessary delays.”

With the new law already in effect, nursing programs will be able to increase enrollment at faster rates and accept more clinical simulation hours, all while maintaining high-quality training for all nursing students. Baird said the new law offers nursing students and registered nurses more freedom to grow and join the workforce, which is especially important as pandemic-related protocols prolonged the process for many nursing students seeking licensure.

Supporters of the law include hospital systems, nursing schools, long-term care facilities, the Indiana Nurses Association, Indiana Hospital Association and Indiana Health Care Association.

To learn more about HEA 1003, visit iga.in.gov.

State Rep. Baird (R-Greencastle) represents House District 44, which includes all of Putnam County and portions of Clay, Morgan, Owen and Parke counties.

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  • Need to stop these Companies from firing our Heroes for not getting a shot in that doesn't WORK!

    -- Posted by Jaxks on Mon, May 23, 2022, at 11:39 PM

  • Hmmm

    -- Posted by beg on Mon, May 23, 2022, at 11:40 PM
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    I agree with Jaxks 100%

    -- Posted by Retired Taxi Driver on Tue, May 24, 2022, at 11:57 AM

  • Increasing State or Federal regulations on private companies and businesses is a very liberal idea.

    -- Posted by Koios on Tue, May 24, 2022, at 7:36 PM
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    In the bill:

    Provides that the state board of nursing (board) shall issue by endorsement a license to practice as a registered nurse or practical nurse to an applicant who is a graduate of a foreign nursing school and provides certain documentation.

    Allows: (1) an eligible associate degree or bachelor's degree registered nursing program to increase enrollment at any rate deemed appropriate by the program; and (2) a nursing program that is not an eligible program but meets specified requirements to increase enrollment by not more than 100%.

    Provides that a majority of the faculty is not required to be full-time employees of a state educational institution that operates a nursing program that predominantly issues associate degrees.

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    Sounds to me like they are lowering the bar a bit.

    And along with this, but they aren't telling you, is that these lesser trained people will be taking on more responsibilities as well.

    Translated, they are simply greasing the skids for their Chamber of Commerce crony capitalism.

    But they are "fixing" the nursing shortage (that they caused in the first place when they bottlenecked the labor supply). Yay team.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Wed, May 25, 2022, at 7:23 PM

  • I would guess since it is a SSSLLC type of bill, it will be a good idea in theory but a failure in reality

    -- Posted by beg on Wed, May 25, 2022, at 8:38 PM

  • I guess I am seeing the third rail is government stopping companies (especially, but not exclusively, healthcare) from firing employees unwilling to vaccinate. Do private companies have that right, or don’t they? Should government step in and regulate these private companies?

    -- Posted by Koios on Wed, May 25, 2022, at 10:11 PM

  • Since you see regulations as SSSLLC leaning, I am excited to see you support Mr Baird!

    As for myself, I don't see regulation on any of the political spectrums.

    The nature of, type of responsibility placed on the intended targets, cost of the regulation, and the process/ real implications of the regulation is what places it where on the political spectrum.

    My practical sense perspective anyway

    -- Posted by beg on Thu, May 26, 2022, at 10:28 AM
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