Yesterday, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) cosponsored a leadership luncheon event in New York to strongly encourage the presidential candidates to focus on addressing nursing and health care issues. Titled Healthcare in America - The Next National Security Issue: Why the Presidential Candidates Should Be Concerned, this bipartisan event was sponsored by AACN, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American Healthcare Association, American Nurses Association, National Center for Assisted Living and the Creative Coalition.
Many prominent speakers including elected officials, policy experts and Hollywood celebrities attended this high profile event and provided comments on issues related to the need for health care reform.
Health care is one of the domestic issues that was presented during last night's presidential debate between Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) at Hofstra University on Long Island.
Dr. Harriet Feldman, dean of the Lienhard School of Nursing at Pace University, was asked by AACN to provide remarks on behalf of nursing education. In her comments, Dr. Feldman conveyed the following:
"The ongoing shortage of nurses is contributing to the breakdown of the nation’s ability to ensure access to safe, quality and affordable health care. Unfortunately, the demand for RNs continues to outpace the supply of new nurses entering the health care system each year. More concerning, is the nurse faculty shortage that is preventing schools from accepting additional students. In 2007, over 40,000 students were turned away from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs because of a lack of faculty. As a stakeholder in health care reform, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing offers its expertise by recommending that a significant investment be made to increase the capacity of nursing schools to educate more nurses. Without a robust nursing workforce, the health care system will not be able to offer quality health care."
Source: The American Association of Colleges of Nursing