Senate Resolution 111

PAG LIN

  1  1                SENATE RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2                      BY  BOETTGER
  1  3 A Resolution recognizing nursing students and faculty.
  1  4    WHEREAS, all Iowans benefit from the service
  1  5 provided by registered nurses; and
  1  6    WHEREAS, 38,091 registered nurses were actively
  1  7 licensed in Iowa on July 1, 2003, but 37 percent of
  1  8 hospitals and long=term care facilities reported an
  1  9 average of 60 days or longer to fill vacancies; and
  1 10    WHEREAS, the average age of most registered and
  1 11 licensed practical nurses is 46; and
  1 12    WHEREAS, the nursing shortage is projected to
  1 13 intensify over the next two decades; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, as of December 2003, 36 full=time and 41
  1 15 part=time nursing faculty vacancies existed at Iowa
  1 16 nursing colleges; and
  1 17    WHEREAS, the graduation rate of masters and
  1 18 doctorally prepared registered nurses will not be
  1 19 sufficient to address a projected retirement of 49
  1 20 percent of nursing faculty in Iowa by 2010; and
  1 21    WHEREAS, high nurse turnover and vacancy rates, as
  1 22 well as the shortage of nursing faculty, negatively
  1 23 impact patient well=being; NOW THEREFORE,
  1 24    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Iowa Senate
  1 25 designates February 12, 2004, as Iowa Nursing Student
  1 26 and Faculty Day and invites the citizens of Iowa to
  1 27 recognize the need for both men and women to choose
  1 28 nursing as a career and to encourage the education of
  1 29 registered nurses at all educational levels.
  1 30 LSB 6331SS 80
  2  1 rj/sh/8