Is Louisiana Failing Its Nurses? New Report Paints Troubling Picture

For years, Louisiana's hospitals have been plagued by a shortage of nurses. Research from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the demand for more nurses will continue to rise. Part of the reason the nursing shortage has hit Louisiana so hard is down to the fact that Louisiana is a bad state for nurses.

Louisiana is currently estimated to be short by 78,000 registered full-time nurses, according to Amy Hall, the Dean of Nursing at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University.

How Louisiana is Failing Nurses

A new study ranks Louisiana as having the worst work environment for nurses compared to the whole country. One of the key reasons Louisiana is suffering from a nursing shortage is brain drain, a major problem for the state.

Brain drain is what happens when someone from an area, let's say Shreveport for example, gets a degree they obviously look for a place to use that degree.

Well using the example of someone from Shreveport, let's imagine they went to school and got all of the certifications to be a registered nurse. That nurse from Shreveport would be disappointed to see that the average salary for nurses in Louisiana is $70k a year compared to the $79k a year in Texas, or even the $93k in California.

Age Asks For More

The nurse shortage is expected to get worse as time goes on. The driving force in the shortage of nurses is due to the fact, that there are more and more old people today. Lifespans have increased to a point where there are now more people over the age of 65 in America than ever before.

With more elderly people than ever before, the population is only expected to grow. By 2030 it's esitmaed there will be a 42% shortage of nurses in Louisiana. If Louisiana isn't able to slow down the nurse shortage, it may spell disaster for the state's medical system.