LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Nurses Association said there are 88,000 nurses in Kentucky, making up 53% of the health care workforce. However, the number of people working in the vitally important field dwindles by the day.

The Kentucky Nurses Association said the state is operating 12-20% short of the needed nursing volume. 

The association recently surveyed nurses in the state to try to figure out why they think their peers are finding work elsewhere. The top factors identified in the survey include:

• Heavy workloads
• Not having people on staff to relieve them from non-nursing clinical activities
• Student loans
• Not feeling supported by management
• Not having any time to take a break

In light of this nursing shortage, Bellarmine University is adding a new section to an already-existing program. The aim is to get more people in the field.

Typically, nursing is a four-year degree track. However, with the accelerated BSN program at Bellarmine University, some students can get a degree in just one year.

“To be able to do it in one year is enticing to students," said program director Lori Minton.

This program is only available to students who already have a Bachelor's degree in another field.

“They take the same exact nursing courses and the same amount of clinical hours. There is nothing they are not having to get as far as nursing. The only thing they are not taking compared to a traditional four-year student is they are not taking the other gen-eds," Minton said.

Bellarmine has offered the accelerated BSN program since 1998. The session starts in May of each year.

Seeing the impact of the nursing shortage in the state, Bellarmine will now add another section. This one will start in January.

“One of the biggest reasons we added a January option is because of the need for nurses we have seen in the last year of this pandemic. There has been a nursing shortage for some time, but I think we have also seen some early retirements," said Minton. "We are just doing one little part here to try to increase nurses ready for practice.”

Bellarmine is now accepting applications for the program. To learn more and apply, visit Bellarmine's website.

Delanor Manson, CEO of the Kentucky Nurses Association, said programs like these are a big asset to the state, but it cannot be the only solution. While Kentucky can train more nurses, she said more needs to be done to entice them to stay here.

“California, Texas and New York are coming to Kentucky and poaching our nurses because they are offering them huge amounts of money per hour as well as sign-on bonuses," Manson said. "They only have to stay short periods of time like 13 weeks in some cases. In other cases it’s six months.”

The Kentucky Nursing Association is asking lawmakers to allocate $100 million from the American Rescue Plan to recruit and retain nurses. 

“We need to provide retention bonuses and recruiting bonuses. We also need to do a major campaign of gratitude for our nurses. When I hear of nurses needing to change out of their scrubs so they can go to the grocery store because their neighbors and community members are taunting them, that is not OK," Manson said.