Texas is facing a nursing shortage, just like the entire United States. The Center for Nursing Workforce Studies reports a projected shortage of approximately 57,000 RNs in Texas by 2032. This shortage will impact the quality of patient care, as well as patient satisfaction.
Since the COVID pandemic, the nursing shortage has increased. Nurses are experiencing burnout and increased stresses in the workplaces. This strongly impacts the workforce and increases the nurse vacancies in many of the related healthcare fields. Other factors include the population growth in the state and the life expectancy of adults has increased. People are living longer. These people typically have chronic conditions and other diseases that require care and strain the already taxed healthcare system.
This aging population also affects existing nursing positions. These are called the “baby boomer nurses,” who have long term careers in nursing. Many of these are in leadership positions and are retiring and leaving the nursing field. Others are in faculty positions, thus creating a shortage of instructors to teach and train our upcoming nurses.
The key to addressing the nursing shortage is centered around collaboration. Cuero Regional Hospital is working closely with Victoria College and the University of Houston in Victoria. They also have many collaborative agreements with colleges that allow their students to complete their clinicals at Cuero Regional Hospital. We assist with mentoring many healthcare fields including anesthesia, family practice medicine physicians, nursing for the licensed vocational nurses and registered nurses, paramedics, advanced emergency medicine technicians, respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, surgical technologists and others.
Cuero Regional Hospital offers a program called UNITE. UNITE istheProgramacronym for “Uplifting New Impactful Talent Everywhere.” This Program is a career development program that offers education opportunities to health care employees interested in entry level or advanced degrees in nursing and other health related fields. UNITE makes it possible for healthcare employees of Cuero Regional Hospital to receive payment for tuition, fees and books, maintain a full salary and benefits while working part time and attending school full time, attend classes in a convenient location and have the support of education mentors.
