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Former Surgeon General: Congress Should Pass the HWRA

Having served the nation as Deputy Surgeon General and then Acting Surgeon General, Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu understands the most pressing issues in American health care. It’s worth noting, then, that Dr. Moritsugu identifies the country’s nursing shortage as a “crisis” that “threatens the foundation of our healthcare system.” Dr. Moritsugu argues that “[n]ow, more than…

Experts Call for the Swift Passage of Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act

In times of need, it’s critical that policymakers implement legislation that could offer immediate reprieve. Now, as the healthcare sector faces a shortage of up to 20% of the entire nursing workforce, policymakers should pass the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, or HWRA. This bipartisan legislation recaptures previously issued but unused immigrant visas and redistributes them…

Patients and Hospitals are Victims of “Broken Immigration System”

A new, deeply reported article in the Washington Post explores how our country’s antiquated immigration system prevents thousands of qualified nurses – who are desperately needed in hospitals and desperately want to work in America – from coming stateside. The Post notes that our “broken immigration system” has been “untouched by Congress for 33 years…

Foreign-Educated Nurses Keep U.S. Healthcare And Philippines Economy Afloat

Foreign-educated nurses, many of whom hail from the Philippines, provide care for patients in an American healthcare system that sorely lacks a sufficient workforce. The U.S. has had a drastic nursing shortage for years, and unfortunately it is poised to worsen. That is where foreign-educated nurses have offered critical support. And while they help keep…

American Hospital Association Calls on Congress to Pass the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act

As America faces a healthcare staffing crisis, the time is now for legislators to implement thoughtful legislation to rehabilitate the sector. Simply, the U.S. does not have enough nurses. Widespread burnout, waning resources, and stressful conditions have rendered a nationwide shortage of nurses. With an aging population and no robust pipeline of future healthcare professionals…

Nursing Shortage Legislation Must Address Foreign-Educated Nurses

America’s healthcare sector remains crippled, even in the aftermath of COVID-19. A recent op-ed from The Hill explained that Americans will face a gap between 200,000 and 450,000 nurses by 2025. To fully rehabilitate the sector, the U.S. must double the nurses entering the workforce annually—all while current practitioners are leaving the field at an…

Remittance Payments, Largely from Foreign Healthcare Workers in the U.S., Drive the Filipino Economy

A recent study by economist Alyssa Nuñez of the University of Asia and the Pacific found that remittances from overseas foreign workers (OFWs) are a driving force of the Filipino economy. Remittances are salaries earned abroad, sent back to families, and spent in the Philippines. These payments power the nation’s consumption-driven economy. In fact, in…

Senators Introduce Legislation Targeting Nursing Shortage

Last week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced new legislation to target factors contributing to the nationwide nursing shortage. The Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act addresses the pay gap between clinical and faculty nursing staff by providing a federal wage differential. The current pay disparity discourages nurse leaders from…

Don’t Let Outlandish Legal Theories Undermine Care

A new RealClearHealth opinion piece by Chris Carmona highlights the dangers that frivolous litigation poses to the country’s health care system and supply of crucial labor. Carmona writes that a nurse from the Philippines has sued her employer, CommuniCare, as well as Worldwide HealthStaff, the firm that recruited her. The nurse alleges that by holding…

Immigration Reform Could Rehabilitate Healthcare Workforce

In the midst of America’s nursing shortage, it is imperative that leaders in the healthcare sector and legislators employ all tools at their disposal to find a solution to the crisis—including employing foreign-educated nurses. A key part of this is ensuring that the visa process is efficient, fair, and working in Americans’ best interests. In…

It’s Not Only Hospitals. Nursing Schools Face Staffing Shortages, Too.

While the immediate effects of the nursing shortage are well documented, the long-term ramifications on the pipeline of workers are more subtle. A new report from the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health details the bleak outlook on the nursing education industry. The report found that one…

Former Cabinet Secretaries Call for Urgent Congressional Action to Address Nursing Shortage

This week, former US Health and Human Services Secretaries Kathleen Sebelius (President Obama’s administration) and Alex Azar (President Trump’s administration) jointly published a bipartisan opinion piece in Time calling on Congress to act quickly before a tidal wave of retirement all but certain to overwhelm the nursing industry takes hold and threatens patients nationwide. The…

Legislation and Foreign-Educated Nurses Can Help Solve Nursing Shortage

In a new op-ed in The Hill, Hispanic Leadership Fund president Mario H. Lopez argues that “skilled immigration offers a viable solution” to the ongoing nursing shortage. Lopez writes that “[f]oreign-educated nurses fill critical gaps in care” and come to the U.S. already highly trained. Lopez also notes that a recently announced delay in visa…

Effort from Activist Trial Attorneys Could Harm Patients

In a new opinion piece, Frontiers of Freedom president George Landrith argues that a network of activist trial attorneys is pursuing “completely inappropriate” human trafficking and RICO claims against a healthcare staffing company. The lawsuit, if successful, could exacerbate the nation’s staffing shortages. The lawsuit boils down to the labor contracts signed by foreign-trained nurses…

“Sensationalist Legal Theory” Could Harm Entire Healthcare System

Curt Levey, president of the Committee for Justice and a constitutional law attorney, writes in a new op-ed that trial lawyers have opted “to sensationalize ordinary employment contract disputes” against a healthcare staffing company to pursue “higher payout or professional notoriety.” These lawyers, representing foreign-educated nurses, claim that their clients are victims under the Trafficking…

Sen. Romney Calls for Expedited Application Processes for Foreign-Educated Nurses

At a Senate Health Committee hearing last week, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney highlighted the urgent need to remedy the shortage of healthcare workers in the United States. In the aftermath of COVID-19, the healthcare sector is still in recovery mode, and to fully rehabilitate it, professionals must employ all resources at their disposal—including utilizing foreign-educated…

Resuscitating the Healthcare Sector

As yet another medical catastrophe threatens to engulf the American healthcare sector, experts are sounding the alarm on the fragile state of our medical landscape. As it stands, the healthcare sector cannot support another widespread crisis. The “tridemic”—fueled by the simultaneous outbreak of a new COVID-19 subvariant, the flu, and RSV—has had a significant impact…

The “Tridemic” Underscores Need for More Nurses

A “tridemic” of a new Covid-19 subvariant, the flu, and RSV has overwhelmed hospitals that are severely understaffed and unable to treat patients adequately. That’s the dire situation that Saul Anuzis, president of 60 Plus, raises in a new op-ed in RealClearHealth. The state of staffing in American hospitals is alarming. Anuzis ticks through the…

“Another Kind of Pandemic”—COVID Continues to Decimate the Healthcare Sector

After three days of striking, New York City nurses returned to work after a series of successful negotiations with hospital executives rendered improved staffing ratios for healthcare workers. While this strike is a success story in achieving more manageable workplace conditions, the issues at hand are not isolated to New York City. Staffing shortages and…

NYC Nurses from Understaffed Hospitals Go on Strike

The widespread burnout running rampant among the nursing community came to a head in New York City on early Monday morning. Hundreds of striking nurses from the New York State Nurses Association took to Madison Avenue, camping out in front of Mount Sinai hospital demanding more sustainable working conditions. The movement was the largest nursing…

Hospitals Struggle to Treat Influx of Sick Kids

The thought of tending to a child so sick they require professional medical attention is both heartbreaking and panic inducing. Yet that reality has become even more horrifying as hospitals struggle to keep up with an unprecedented demand for pediatric medical care in the past few months. Understaffed hospitals have forced parents to endure agonizing…

Nursing Shortage Requires Novel Solutions

All too often, individuals forget the most central component of the healthcare sector — care, itself. Our medical facilities rely wholly on the individuals who make up their workforce. Nursing is a fundamentally selfless profession, predicated on RNs giving of themselves until we, their patients, are fully rehabilitated. It’s why they are so often referred…

“Tridemic” Strains Hospitals

In yet another blow to an already crippled workforce, there appears to be no respite for healthcare workers this holiday season. In the midst of what many considered the conclusion of COVID-19, a new “tridemic” threatens to take hold of the public and overwhelm healthcare systems nationwide. The outbreak, fueled by the simultaneous spread of…

Plaintiffs Aim to Distort Trafficking Laws over Labor Dispute, Threatening Nursing Solutions

Noah Peters, former Solicitor at the Federal Labor Relations Authority, wrote a recent piece in Law360 that examines a mundane labor dispute in which the plaintiffs claim human trafficking and RICO laws have been violated. The claims would massively expand the scope of those laws and undermine the future of innovative healthcare solutions that assuage…

Healthcare Expert Weighs in on Mitigating the Nursing Shortage

For decades, medical professionals and industry experts have warned of an extreme shortage of registered nurses nationwide. As the aging population grows and COVID-19 impacts still linger, nurses have become overwhelmed and many have opted for retirement – reducing the quality of care for patients. McKinsey estimates that, without any meaningful solution, the U.S. could…

The Demand for Bilingual Nurses is Increasing

Registered nurses are responsible for a wide range of duties in a hospital, from coordinating patient care, administering medications and treatments, to providing advice and emotional support to patients and their loved ones. Not to mention, all during a 12-hour shift. In hospitals, nurses generally outnumber doctors by 3:1. Typically, doctors spend only a few…

Our Aging Population Will Increase Strain on the Healthcare System

Registered nurses are the glue that keeps medical facilities together. Serving as patient advocates and skilled care providers, nurses provide a high level of direct care to patients. However, sustaining the United States healthcare workforce is a daunting task. Concerns surrounding a potential nursing shortage have loomed for years, and the situation has only worsened….

Understaffed Nursing Homes Are Most Severe in Disadvantaged Areas

Nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the U.S., accounting for about 4 million registered nurses. Filling a critical role in the function of hospitals, medical centers, and nursing homes, nurses provide expert care from birth to the end of life. However, the need for RNs has surged during the pandemic. This, combined with an…

Nursing Shortage Will Remain Unsolved without Foreign-Educated Nurses

Recent reporting from Skilled Nursing Newsoutlines how many in the healthcare sector believe immigration “is one obvious solution” to the nursing shortage that continues to undermine patients across the country. As noted in the article, the health care sector “is operating with 14% less of its pre-pandemic workforce” thanks to it losing “nearly 229,000 caregivers…

New Report Identifies Challenges and Approaches to Nursing Shortages

McKinsey & Company, the well-known management consulting and advisory firm, published a new report titled “Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce” in May. The report, written by Gretchen Berlin, Meredith Lapointe, Mhoire Murphy, and Joanna Wexler, predicts the lingering impacts of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce over the next few years, as…

Foreign-Educated Nurses Fill a Critical Role, Argues Former Dep. Surgeon General

Admiral Kenneth Moritsugu is an expert when it comes to public health systems and policies. As the former Deputy Surgeon General of the United States as well as former Acting Surgeon General, he has a wealth of knowledge about the county’s health care system. He recently wrote an op-ed for RealClearHealth in which he discusses…

Secure Our Care is a project of 60 Plus, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that advocates for seniors and advances causes that matter most to seniors and their families. Founded in 1992, 60 Plus Association, the American Association of Senior Citizens is a 501c4 non-partisan, non-profit organization that advocates for seniors who believe in market-based solutions and are dedicated to protecting your right to freedom of speech and limited but effective government. We are committed to educating and advancing issues that matter most to seniors and their families such as protecting Social Security and Medicare, ensuring access to quality medical care, expanded educational options, lower taxes, retirement security, energy independence and permanently repealing the death tax.