|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ch. 257
|
|
2000 LAWS OF MARYLAND
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BY adding to
Article - Health Occupations
Section 8-7B-01 to be under the new subtitle "Subtitle 7B. Statewide
Commission on the Crisis in Nursing"
Annotated Code of Maryland
(1994 Replacement Volume and 1999 Supplement)
Preamble
WHEREAS, In Maryland, and across the country, concerns about an increasing
nursing shortage continue to grow; and
WHEREAS, A number of factors contribute to the growing shortages in qualified
nursing personnel; and
WHEREAS, The way care is delivered has changed dramatically over the last
decade with more people being treated in outpatient settings, shorter and more
intense lengths of stay in acute and long-term care settings, and the development of
alternatives to nursing home care; and
WHEREAS, These changes have led to a number of employment options
becoming available to nurses that did not exist previously, making it difficult for
employers of nurses to recruit and retain qualified nursing personnel; and
WHEREAS, In Maryland, the average age of the practicing nurse in the
workforce is 46 years old; and
WHEREAS, Nursing school enrollments have dropped between 10 and 15%; and
WHEREAS, In 1998, approximately 2,085 nurses did not renew their licenses to
practice in Maryland; and
WHEREAS, The current shortage is expected to worsen because of the declines
in nursing school enrollments and the significant number of nurses expected to retire
over the next decade; and
WHEREAS, Severe cutbacks in the federal Medicare program under the 1997
Balanced Budget Act, state budgetary pressures related to the Medicaid program,
continued pressure from insurers to reduce their costs and to retrospectively deny
payment for services rendered, and recent cuts to hospital rates by the Health
Services Cost Review Commission have made it extremely difficult for many
providers to keep up with other employers in salaries and benefits and to recruit and
retain qualified nursing personnel; and
WHEREAS, The increasing reliance on temporary employment agencies to meet
nursing personnel needs further complicates the situation as continuity of care is
disrupted, quality of patient care is jeopardized, and costs pressures are further
increased; and
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 1566 -
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
