Nursing groups across Texas are saying budget cuts and the failure of eight bills during the 87th legislative session will make it harder for nurses to provide care, reports NBC affiliate KXAN.
Sixteen nursing groups said their members across Texas were exceedingly hopeful that lawmakers would pass policies and reforms to support patients and nurses. Instead, lawmakers cut the $20 million budget for the Nursing Shortage Reduction Program — which distributes money to nursing schools to boost enrollment and capacity — by 5 percent.
"It's extremely discouraging, disappointing and quite baffling in some ways to me, that this has happened in light of what we have been going through," said Texas Rep. Donna Howard, RN, D-Austin.
Texas faces the second worst nursing shortage in the U.S. and ranks 51st nationally in healthcare access and affordability, reports the Texas Nurses Association.
"I feel like if it didn't happen during this [legislative] session, it's really not going to happen," one nurse told KXAN under the condition of confidentiality. "We should have had such a ground swelling of support for nurses and front-line workers because once again, the Texas legislature failed to protect nurses."
"We do have a staffing crisis," the nurse explained. "We have new graduates coming in with nobody to train them."
The following bills and measures didn't pass:
HB 2029, SB 915 — Would've removed anti-competitive regulations for advanced practice RNs to expand access to care.
HB 1524 — Would've allowed APRNs to prescribe Schedule II medications under delegated authority from a physician.
HB 326 — Would've required facilities to adopt workplace violence prevention plans, encouraged reporting of workplace violence incidents and ensured that providers receive necessary care after an incident.
HB 396, SB 433/499 — Would've created a presumption that nurses who contracted COVID-19 did so in the scope of their employment.
HB 2409 — Would've codified the COVID-19 measure waiving continuing education requirements and reactivation fees for nurses who came out of retirement/reactivated their license during a disaster.
HB 982 — Would've expedited licensure for APRNs licensed out of state.
SB 146, HB 2062 — Would've created a loan repayment program for nurses who work in long-term care.
HB 3819 — Would've allowed school nurses to administer prescription asthma medicine to a student in emergencies.
The nursing groups said they will continue to advocate for their profession and are strategizing for the next legislative session.