OKLAHOMA CITY – The nursing shortage in Oklahoma is “pretty significant,” according to Jane Nelson, chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Nurses Association.
“We have always had a shortage, but it’s been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
Hundreds of nursing position remain unfilled in hospitals across the state, the ONA informed state legislators recently.
Many long-term care facilities “do not have enough nurses to provide even basic care,” Nelson said. Others have been forced to close wings and turn away residents “in order to provide adequate care to existing residents.”
Home health agencies are reporting that in some instances, they are being forced to refuse new patients, she lamented.
“Last year we held a public meeting to look at the impact of the pandemic on Oklahoma, and one of the things we learned about was the shortage of nurses at all levels: in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living centers and other facilities,” said Sen. John Haste, R-Broken Arrow.
In the early 2000s, Oklahoma was ranked 46th in the nation in the number of nurses per 1,000 population, Nelson said. Today, Oklahoma is still ranked 46th nationally.
“We’ve been talking about a nursing shortage for 20 years,” she said.
According to the state nurses association, Oklahoma has 73,722 licensed nurses. They include:
• 51,159 registered nurses.
• 16,521 licensed practical nurses.
• 83 advanced certified nurse midwives.
• 4,875 advanced practice registered nurse certified nurse practitioners.
• 294 APRN clinical nurses.
• 790 APRN certified registered nurse anesthetists.
Population changes have resulted in a growing need for health care services.
Don Blose, the CEO for Spanish Cove Retirement Village in Yukon, told state legislators during a recent interim study that Oklahoma and the nation face major health care problems because populations are living longer than previous generations did, and resources to care for them cannot keep pace.
At the same time the nursing workforce, too, is aging. Last year, the average age of registered nurses working in this state was 46, and the average age of licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants was 44, the ONA reported.
There’s a “wide spectrum” of jobs in nursing, Nelson related – hospice, bedside care, telehealth, primary care, respiratory therapists and physical therapists, nurse anesthetists and midwives – “and there’s a shortage of them across the board.”
Turnover among Oklahoma nurses is approximately 22% each year, on average, but Nelson said she spoke with the administrator of one hospital who said their turnover rate this year has been nearly 30%.
“Working 12-hour shifts while standing on your feet all that time,” she said. “Then add the physical and emotional demands of the job, such as turning patients who may be overweight, or lifting them and getting them out of bed – the reaching and stretching that goes with the job.”
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, “a great number” of nurses left bedside nursing for other health care jobs, and several left the profession entirely, because of its demands.
Many nurses are leaving bedside care “because they’re worn out,” Nelson said. “They’re sandwiched between the demands of caring for their patients and the demands of their family.
“We obviously have a pipeline problem,” said Rep. Marilyn Stark, R-Bethany, who’s been a nurse since 1984. “We have nurses coming into our health care facilities, but if they leave at the same rate, that’s net zero. We need to find ways not only to recruit and train more nurses, but to keep them in the field once they enter it.”
One former nurse told legislators she went more than $40,000 in debt for a nursing degree but quit because she found better compensation and more personal fulfillment in another job. However, she later said she’s working for a health-care organization and regularly uses the knowledge she gained as a nurse, and she has retained her nursing license.
If Oklahoma had more nurses, perhaps the Sooner State would have better health outcomes, Nelson said.
“We could potentially move up in our health outcomes by eliminating many of the preventable deaths we have now,” she said.