The Issue
Nurses are the life blood of Hoag Hospital and its high standards of patient care.
The Choose Nursing, Choose Hoag initiative addresses the challenges facing Hoag in attracting, developing, retaining, and providing career advancement opportunities for nurses. Hospitals are facing one of the most challenging public health issues in history - a severe nursing shortage. Today California ranks 50th in the nation in the number of registered nurses per 100,000 people. This problem will continue to grow as California's population continues to age and expand while half of the state's nurses are advancing toward retirement age. By 2010, the number of RNs is predicted to fall 20% below the demand as budget-strapped nursing schools are unable to expand programs to fill the need.
To address this issue, Choose Nursing, Choose Hoag has set the following objectives:
- Educate the community about the nursing shortage and the need for nursing education
- Endow nursing professorships and scholarships at local universities
- Provide conferences, specialty training and continuing education for Hoag nurses
- Provide operational expenses for the Marion Knott Nursing Education Center
- Retain Hoag's status as a Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing services
- Build Hoag's nursing staff to 85% BSNs and 10% MSNs
- Seek community partners who recognize the importance of nursing and nursing education.
Hoag's leadership has approached this issue with vision and action. Choose Nursing, Choose Hoag calls for the further development of nursing education and enhanced relationships with nursing schools. Hoag now funds 11 professorships at area nursing schools and the nurses from these programs are required to do their clinical rotation at the hospital. This builds relationships that have had a dramatic effect on nurse recruitment.
In addition, community volunteers, led by Kenneth Beall, have come together to build a network of community supporters and activists who will generate the investment necessary to advance this important initiative. Phase 1 is nearly complete with over $4 million raised toward the development of the Marion Knott Nursing Education Center. This state-of-the-art center provides nurses with the highest level of training in patient care, technology, and management. The remaining $1 million will complete the facility and provide additional funding for nursing education opportunities.
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