Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signed an executive order Oct. 13 to expand workforce capacity to ensure Nebraskans retain access to healthcare workers, reports ABC7.
COVID-19 patient surges and nursing shortages are overwhelming the healthcare systems of Nebraska. As of Oct. 14, only 15 percent of staffed adult intensive care unit beds were available and 23 percent of staffed adult hospital beds were available, according to the Nebraska Hospital Capacity Dashboard.
The executive order suspends some licensing requirements for specialist healthcare professionals including registered dietitians, radiographers and speech-language pathologists and allows them to practice with out-of-state licenses. It also allows pharmacists to have an unrestricted number of pharmacists and technicians under them to aid in vaccinations. The order is set to expire Dec. 31.