RNs call for half-billion-dollar investment and legislative package to fix the nursing shortage crisis by 2030

More than 500 Nurses to Rally at California Capitol on May 9, During Nurses Week

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses and health care professionals of UNAC/UHCP are calling on California lawmakers to intervene in the chronic nursing shortage—with a half-billion-dollar investment and legislation that will double California's capacity to graduate new RNs and bring transparency and accountability to the enforcement of California's lifesaving, ground-breaking nurse-to-patient ratios.

On Tuesday, May 9, more than 500 members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) will rally on the Capitol Mall and then make personal visits to elected representatives—where they ask for urgent intervention to save nursing in California.

"For the sake of nurses at the bedside and the patients we care for, we must boost the ranks of new nurses and enforce our leading California nurse-to-patient ratios," said Charmaine Morales, RN, and UNAC/UHCP President.

Three bills sponsored by UNAC/UHCP are next headed for votes in the full Assembly.

These efforts are just the beginning. The staffing crisis is a systemic national problem in need of systemic national solutions. Where California leads, the nation follows. When these solutions work, UNAC/UHCP will take them nationwide.

Bold Visionary Solutions

UNAC/UHCP members are coming to Sacramento with bold, visionary solutions to the crisis that include:

• A request for a $500 million state investment from 2025 to 2030 for California's 77 community college nursing schools. We can double our capacity to graduate new nurses in five years.

1. Community Nursing: Assembly Bill 1695 will open the nursing pipeline by creating a high school level Nursing 101 course with automatic admission toward an associate degree in nursing (ADN) at the nearest community college. Bringing in nurses from underserved communities will foster cultural competency and awareness to improve patient care.
   
   
2. Clearing the Bottleneck: Nursing students need clinical placement hours to graduate. Assembly Bill 1577 will compel more clinical placements from hospitals. 
   
   
3. Staffing Law Enforcement: Assembly Bill 1063 will bring transparency, accountability, and RN input into the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) enforcement of nurse staffing ratios. 

United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) represents more than 35,000 registered nurses and health care professionals in California and Hawaii.

Jeff Rogers | [email protected] | 909-263-7230
Anjetta Thackeray | [email protected] | 909-455-5146

SOURCE United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals