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CHARLESTON, W. Va.–As medical facilities warn of staffing shortages and strain from another Covid-19 surge, The state will investment in nursing training and recruitment.
Officials acknowledged that the training of nurses, long in short supply in West Virginia, will pay off years down the road. But they indicated hope that stepped up recruitment efforts could alleviate current pressures.
According to state records last year 1,700 West Virginia nurses didn’t renew their licenses. And, he said, 68 percent said the reason was that they are exhausted.
The goal of the new initiative is to produce more than 2,000 nurses in West Virginia over the next four years, said Ann Urling, Gov. Jim Justice’s deputy chief of staff.
“We know we have an incredible shortage of nurses, do we not?” Justice said.
Justice specified spending $48 million for nursing programs at Concord University, Glenville State College and Bridge Valley Community & Technical College. That money comes from West Virginia’s remaining apportionment of federal CARES Act money. West Virginia still has $125.6 million in CARES funding, according to state figures.
“It will not be a one-time spend. This will be a renewing, absolute multiplier effect of dollars within our own state that will perpetuate our economy — but more than anything will give us what we need right now: proper staffing; we need proper staffing at our hospitals,” Justice said.
He did not specify how those programs might be maintained beyond the allocation from CARES.
His announcement came as state officials have issued urgent warnings about hospital staffing capacity. Leaders with the West Virginia Hospital Association warned this week that emergency rooms already have more patients than staff to care for them.
“Nurses are the heart of our healthcare system,” said Cynthia Persily, senior director of health sciences for the Higher Education Policy Commission. “Their work and dedication are invaluable. The covid-19 pandemic also has highlighted the critical shortages of nurses that we have both in West Virginia, as well as across the nation.