A half-billion-dollar investment in California's community nursing schools would double the state's capacity to graduate new RNs, according to the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.
More than 500 members of the union will rally May 9 in Sacramento, urging lawmakers to support a five-year investment for the state's 77 community college nursing schools. With that investment from 2025 to 2030, "We can double our capacity to graduate new nurses in five years," the group said in a May 4 statement.
UNAC/UHCP members are also urging lawmakers to support a package of legislation to address the nursing shortage, including Assembly Bill 1577, which would require hospitals to report the number of clinical placements filled on a quarterly basis and subject hospitals that fail to meet the placement needs of community college nursing programs to a fine.
Recent data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing indicates a lack of faculty and clinical training sites is a large factor in thousands of qualified nursing program applicants being turned out nationwide.