West Michigan Health Scorecard

January 2005
Volume I, No. 3

Health Status (of RN capacity in health care facilities)

þ         The average age of registered nurses (RNs) working in West Michigan acute care hospitals in 2004 was 42.8 and the average age of faculty in West Michigan nursing schools was 50.9.

þ     By 2010, the number of older nurses nationally will peak.  Nearly half of all nurses will be over age 50, with the average age above 45.  A large number of RNs will be retiring without a comparable number entering the workforce.

Data Sources  – 2004 survey of West Michigan acute care hospitals conducted by the West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council of the Alliance for Health; Buerhaus, Peter I, et al, “Is the Current Shortage of Hospital Nurses Ending?”  Health Affairs, Nov/Dec 2003.

Access to Health Care

þ         West Michigan nursing schools are expected to graduate 386 new nurses in 2004/05, compared to 295 in 2002/03 and 316 in 2003/04, an increase of nearly 100 graduates over the past 2 years.

þ         Interest in nursing as a career is strong in West Michigan.  However, due to lack of capacity at West Michigan nursing schools, 855 qualified students were denied admission to RN programs in 2004. This number may include some duplication as many students now apply to more than one school.  This number has increased from 153 in 2002 and 401 in 2003.

þ         3,833 RNs are employed in 18 West Michigan acute care hospitals that responded to a 2004 survey. More than 210 positions were unfilled, meaning a vacancy rate of 5.6%. Projections based upon a national model show that the West Michigan shortage would increase to 466 RNs by 2010 (10.3% vacancy) and 1,460 RNs by 2020 (25% vacancy).

Data Sources  – 2004 survey of West Michigan acute care hospitals conducted by the West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council of the Alliance for Health; National Projection Model:  “Projected Supply, Demand and Shortage of Registered Nurses: 2000-2020,” July 2002, US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, National Center for Workforce Analysis.

Quality of Health Care

þ         “Nurse staffing levels, the knowledge and skill level of nursing staff, and the extent to which workers collaborate in sharing their knowledge and skills all affect patient outcomes and safety.”

þ         Several studies conducted since 2000 have substantiated the “observation that greater numbers of patient deaths are associated with fewer nurses to provide care” (Aiken et al., 2002) and “less nursing time provided to patients is associated with higher rates of infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, cardiac arrest and death” (Needleman et al., 2002)… nurses are indispensable to patient safety.

Data Source -  “Keeping Patients Safe:  Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses (2004)” – Board on Health
Care Services (HCS), Institute of Medicine (IOM) – Executive Summary

Cost of Health Care

þ    The cost to educate additional nursing students if schools are able to expand their programs has been estimated at an average of over $110,000 per 10 students.

  Data Source – Task Force of the West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council of the Alliance for Health representing 8 schools of nursing, 2004.

Feature Article –

"The Nursing Shortage and West Michigan”

The nursing shortage, and its related impact on health care and patient safety, is recognized as a problem of national magnitude.  Although this is a problem nationwide, this concern is being realized right here in West Michigan.   

What is the impact of the nursing shortage in West Michigan?  A national projection model applied to the West Michigan area predicts that an increasing demand for Registered Nurses (RN’s) will exceed the supply of RN’s available over the next 5-10 years, and this will continue to occur at an accelerating rate!  Although data on the nursing shortage in West Michigan over the past 2 years reveals that the vacancy rate for RN positions in acute care facilities has decreased, the fact remains that more RN’s will be retiring and leaving the workforce at a higher rate than new RN’s are entering the profession.  More data is needed on the workforce situation in long term care facilities and nursing homes in West Michigan in order to determine the full impact of the nursing shortage, however the data for acute care facilities alone is alarming as the health care needs of an aging population is compared with the diminishing supply of RN’s available to care for the community’s health care needs in the near future.  In addition, although the number of students graduating from nursing schools has increased over the past 2 years, the number of qualified students denied admission to schools of nursing is also increasing.  West Michigan nursing schools currently don’t have the capacity to train all of the individuals who want to become nurses. 

What is contributing to the nursing shortage?  Factors contributing to this problem include: 

¨       The average age of RN’s continues to increase with a large number of RN’s anticipating retirement over the next 10 years, without a comparable number of new RN’s entering the workforce

¨       More RN’s are needed to care for an increasing elderly population in addition to overall population growth anticipated in Michigan

¨       Medical advances and new technology will increase the need for RN’s

¨       Schools of nursing are accepting as many new nursing students as they can, yet an increasing number of nursing student applicants are denied admission due to capacity issues related to the compelling need for more finances to fund education programs, more faculty to educate additional students and more clinical placements available.

What is happening in West Michigan to address these problems?  The West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council (WMNAC) of the Alliance for Health is a group of regional nursing leaders who are taking action to address these issues through such measures as: 

¨       Supporting area schools of nursing in efforts to recruit faculty and expand enrollment

¨       Examining more effective models of nursing education and nursing practice

¨       Building partnerships with schools, churches and community organizations to publicize the problem, promote public awareness about issues important to nursing, and recruit nursing students

¨       Promoting nursing scholarships by advocating for increased funding and simplified access

¨       Collaborating with community leaders on developing creative approaches to the problem

¨       Participating with and through the Alliance for Health regarding regional health needs, priorities and policies

How can you help?  Communicate your concerns and ideas to our West Michigan legislators.  Share this information with friends, neighbors and business associates. You are also welcome to become involved with the West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council.  This group is open to anyone who is interested even if you are not sure what you can do to help.  The sharing of ideas and collaborative efforts among a variety of individuals will generate positive solutions to this community health problem!

For more information:  West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council (WMNAC) 

view the Winter 2006 Scorecard
view the Spring 2005 Scorecard
view the October 2004 Scorecard
view the July 2004 Scorecard