RALEIGH, N.C. -- The World Health Organization has declared 2020 the "Year of the Nurse" in celebration of Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday. Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing.

In North Carolina, healthcare experts say there aren't enough nurses to keep up with demand. Meka Douthit El is director of nursing at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro. She said a swelling patient population is outpacing the supply of nurses.

"In North Carolina, it's 139,000 nurses, and it's more people that need to be taken care of," Douthit El said. "And that's only in our area. The World Health Organization, you know, noted this is the 'Year of the Nurse' because they recognize that it's a shortage. It's a global shortage."

According to a report by researchers at Georgetown University, North Carolina is slated to have one of the worst nurse shortages in the country, with nearly 13,000 nurses needed by 2025.

Dennis Taylor is an acute care nurse practitioner at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem. He said people often think of nurses in a traditional, hospital-based role. But he pointed out they are on the front lines of disease prevention and community-based care.

"Nurses work in so many other areas: public health nursing, school nurses, home care, hospice, migrant health, senior centers, long-term care facilities, things like that," Taylor said.

Douthit El added it's unsustainable to expect hospital emergency rooms to shoulder the health needs of communities, especially in rural areas. She believes changing state law to allow advanced nurse practitioners to practice with autonomy would help boost access to care.

"The people that come to hospital are the sickest of the sick," she said. "To keep them outside of the hospital, there is an increased need to address rural health, you know, and to meet people where they are."

In 2019, nurses pressed state legislators to pass the SAVE Act, a bill that would remove physician supervision requirements for advanced practice registered nurses and clinical nurse midwives. The bill did not make it out of the state Senate, but is still eligible to be passed in 2020. And advocates continue to push for a hearing in both chambers during the short session.


get more stories like this via email

After more than 50 years of use, some Michigan lawmakers say naloxone may not be the best choice in an overdose situation.

Naloxone is sometimes called the "Lazarus drug" because of its powerful ability to seemingly resurrect people after a drug overdose.

Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, and some of his colleagues have introduced a bill which would open the door for what they say are more costly, but more powerful, antidotes.

"Given the prevalence of fentanyl in our communities, and how much stronger some of these drugs that we're now seeing are, we believe -- and in talking with others -- that there should be other tools to respond to an overdose," Hertel explained. "To make sure we're doing everything we can to save somebody's life."

Not everyone is on board with the proposed legislation, Senate Bill 542. Opponents argued the more expensive naloxone alternatives are not necessary, and using them would only increase profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

Jonathan Stoltman, director of the Opioid Policy Institute in Grand Rapids, said while the naloxone alternatives do help in overdose situations, they can also cause nasty side effects.

"The newer approaches, they put people into more severe withdrawal," Stoltman pointed out. "That's a pretty profound negative side effect. The one approach is very inexpensive and works great; the other approach is far more expensive and has this strong negative side effect."

Sponsors of the bill say they're hoping to give Michigan residents a chance to chime in on the issue in a public hearing sometime in June. Michigan saw more than 3,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2021.


get more stories like this via email

New Mexico saw record enrollment numbers for the Affordable Care Act this year and is now setting its sights on lowering out-of-pocket costs - those not reimbursed by insurance. More than 56,000 New Mexicans are enrolled in a medical health insurance plan on the state exchange - an increase of 12,000 people overall.

Colin Baillio, deputy superintendent with the state's Office of Insurance, said the state has boosted its outreach and made efforts to improve the overall consumer experience.

"We saw a 40% year-over-year increase, and New Mexico saw the biggest percentage increase during the open-enrollment period among all of the state-based marketplaces," he explained

Part of the enrollment increase is due to what's called the "unwinding" - a federal directive that required all states to redetermine Medicaid eligibility following a three-year pause on checks during the COVID pandemic. He said by using expanded tools made available by the federal and state government, 8% of New Mexico's population is now uninsured - down from 23% in 2010.

Following approval by lawmakers in the 2024 legislative session, the New Mexico governor signed seven health care-related bills into law - one of which requires annual reporting of prescription drug pricing. Baililo said the Affordable Care Act built the foundation that has allowed the state to pursue additional affordability initiatives.

"I'm really glad to see that there's so much interest in the next step of health reform, really leaning into these out-of-pocket cost issues and making it easier for people to afford to stay covered and see their doctors," he continued.

Two years ago, the state also passed a one-of-a-kind law that did away with behavioral health co-pays for people in certain insurance plans.

New York's medical aid-in-dying bill is gaining further support. The Medical Society of the State of New York is supporting the bill. New York's bill allows terminally ill people with only six months to live to use this option, with safeguards requiring two physicians' approval.

The bill's Assembly sponsor Amy Paulin, D-Westchester, said despite the growing support, other hurdles lie ahead.

"Now we have what I believe, if it came to the floor, a majority. There's still a hesitation on the part of leadership. You know, we need members to assure leadership that they no longer have reservations," she said.

Other newly resolved concerns center on making sure insurance companies and doctors who don't support this aren't held liable. She's optimistic the bill will pass after nine years in the Legislature. New York would be the 11th state along with Washington, D.C. to have medical aid in dying legislation.

Corinne Carey, senior New York campaign director with Compassion and Choices finds the pandemic drew a vivid picture of a person's end-of-life experience. There were images of people dying on ventilators, apart from loved ones, and unable to communicate. She said people began thinking about a "good death."

"And, what is a good death is being surrounded by loved ones, having some measure of control, experiencing the touch of your loved ones, and being the one in the driver's seat," she explained.

Now people have different options for end-of-life care, each of which presents various challenges. Polls show medical aid in dying has garnered considerable support since being introduced in 2015. A 2022 Compassion and Choices poll finds 57% of nurses support medical aid in dying professionally, although fewer support it personally.