A nurse in Augusta, Ga., applied to renew her nursing license in October and is still waiting for the Secretary of State's office to process it, local NBC affiliate WRDW reported Dec. 29.
"They'll tell me to give them three days and I kind of told them I don't have three days. I'm out of time," Donna Morton, RN, a front-line worker of 20 years, told WRDW. Since she hasn't worked in two months, Ms. Morton has no heat or running water.
The office told WRDW there have been processing delays this year due to an influx of new graduates and out-of-state nurses applying for temporary licenses. During a normal year, the processing time is about seven business days, while it's now up to 15.
To reserve resources and help speed the license approval process, the Secretary of State's Office is asking people not to resend documents unless they're asked to, and not to call the day after submitting to check application status, according to WRDW.
California's Secretary of State Office is also experiencing processing delays up to three months, the station reported.
Editor's note: Becker's has reached out to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office and will update the report as more information becomes available.
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