FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:           

MARGE SULLIVAN, PALM HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION, 561-833-6333

MELANIE OTERO, THE WATERS PELTON ORGANIZATION, 561-626-0026, x11

JENNIFER MARTINEZ, THE WATERS PELTON ORGANIZATION, 561-626-0026, x19

WEST PALM BEACH, FL— The Florida Nursing Resource Center (NRC), an internet-based service designed to help close the nursing shortage gap, launched this week.  The Florida NRC (www.floridanrc.org), follows the format developed by the Foundation of California Community Colleges, from which the system license for the Florida NRC was purchased.  This centralized online system serves as an important link between nursing faculty who schedule students needing clinical training and clinical facilities with available openings.  It also allows schools to post vacant faculty positions and interested nurses to post profiles to fill the vacancies.    By the end of the first day of the system launch on March 6, 2007, 515 requests were made to clinical facilities for student group rotations in the South Florida and Treasure Coast regions, signaling the strong need for the service and an indication of its anticipated success. 

According to a 2005 study by the Florida Hospital Association, approximately 8% of hospital nursing positions are vacant, and the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation projects that an additional 8,060 registered nurses will be needed each year through 2011 to accommodate growth and replace nurses who separate from the workforce.  Currently, qualified nursing school applicants are turned away due to a shortage of faculty and clinical space for training.

The Florida NRC provides two internet-based features to help provide solutions for shortages in clinical training and nursing faculty.  The Centralized Clinical Placement System (CCPS) streamlines the scheduling process of clinical placements for nursing students.  As a result, underutilized space will be made available, allowing for increased nursing student capacity.  The Centralized Faculty Resource Center (CFRC) provides a forum for interested nurses to easily locate resources on becoming a nurse educator and create a profile to submit in response to posted vacant faculty positions.

The Florida NRC was developed through the collaboration of Palm Healthcare Foundation and the Nursing Shortage Consortium of South Florida.  The Health Foundation of South Florida awarded grant funds to the Nursing Shortage Consortium to provide NRC services and support staff for Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, and Palm Healthcare Foundation provided matching funds and staff to bring the NRC to Palm Beach, Hendry, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Martin counties.  The organizations share responsibilities for training, customer support and other services for the nine county area and hope to expand services to other regions within the state by facilitating other counties onto the system. 

“We’re really attacking the nursing shortage from two angles,” said Judy Brustad, Palm Healthcare Foundation Program Director for the Florida NRC.  “We’re creating a communication vehicle where none existed before to increase awareness of available nursing faculty positions.  As faculty positions are filled, nursing schools can increase the number of educational opportunities for nursing students.  We’re also streamlining the process to match nursing students with available clinical training opportunities to maximize the number of students accepted.  It is hoped that by increasing nursing school capacity, some of the nurses currently turned away from area nursing schools can be admitted, ultimately leading to an increase in qualified nurses.”

As of March 13, 2007 the Florida NRC had achieved the following participation rates:  Of the 14 hospitals in PBC, 71% have committed to use the NRC for student placements. Of 29 clinical agencies in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast regions, 41% have committed.  Of 51 clinical agencies in the Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Broward regions 14% have committed to participate. 

There are a total of 42 nursing school campuses in the 9 county region served by the Florida NRC; 25 in the Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Broward county region and 17 in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast region.  Of the 25 nursing school campuses in the Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Broward regions 76% have committed to use the Florida Nursing Resource Center.  Of the 17 nursing school campuses in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast regions, 59% have committed to use the system and in Palm Beach County, 90% of the nursing schools are using the system.

Nursing schools have until March 18, 2007 to finish making online requests for available clinical training openings for the fall 2007 semester.  From March 19 to March 31, 2007 agencies will be able to respond online to the schools’ proposals to place students in clinical settings.  During April the Florida NRC staff will assist with finding placement for any students still in need. 

For more information about the program, including making the NRC available in other Florida regions, please contact Judy Brustad, Palm Healthcare Foundation at 561-833-6333.